Russians eye China after Turkish delays

Demet Cengiz Bilgin ISTANBUL / Hürriyet

Some 300 Turkish and 50 Russian businesswomen held more than 700 bilateral meetings at the summit co-sponsored by TUSKON and BARF on Oct 10. Hürriyet photo

Russian importers are increasingly turning to China as Turkish producers delay deliveries, a top Russian boss has said.

“We are being forced to place orders with Chinese producers, as they make deliveries in just one week. Turkey is in a favorable location in terms of logistics, but we cannot procure the goods on time. We request some sensitivity on this issue,” Businesswomen’s Association of the Russian Federation President (BARF) Irina Eldarkhanova said at the Turkey-Russia Businesswomen Summit.

The summit was jointly organized by the head of the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON) and BARF on Oct. 10. It provided an opportunity for 50 Russian and 300 Turkish businesswomen to conduct more than 700 bilateral discussions.

The aim of the summit was to increase the trade volume between Russian and Turkey, which was at $32 billion in 2011.

Eldarkhanova said the beauty of Russian women was no obstacle to their success in business life. “Both in Turkey and in Russia the criterion [for success in business] is competence, rather than beauty,” she said. Oxana Goryunova, the owner of textile firm Mir which has an annual turnover of 100 million rubles, agreed that Russian women gave importance to both staying beautiful and pursuing success in family and business life, adding that she wanted to increase Mir’s cooperation in Turkey.

Meanwhile, TUSKON President Rızanur Meral said in his speech at the event that the Turkey-Russia bilateral trade volume target was $100 billion for 2015.

Russia, with its population of 150 million people, $1.7 trillion gross domestic product, $775
billion foreign trade volume and rich natural resources, is very important to Tukish businesses, Meral said.