Türkiye aims to increase e-exports to 10 percent

ANKARA

The Trade Ministry will support local firms with an aim to increase the share of e-exports in the country’s total exports from 1.5 percent to 10 percent.

A written statement issued by the ministry said that the current and dynamic needs of the e-commerce ecosystem are being closely monitored in line with the digital transformation that is taking place worldwide with the technological advances brought by the age of the 21st century and the changing needs of global trade.

With the e-export support package, efforts are being made to ensure that exporters adapt to this transformation as quickly as possible and to guide the sector, it said.

"With the support packages we have created, it is aimed to increase the share of our e-exports in our total exports from 1.5 percent to 10 percent, thus helping our country's exporters to play an effective and active role in the rapidly growing cross-border e-commerce market in the world," the statement read.

With the "E-Export Support Package" prepared by the ministry, it will be possible to support the expenses of companies, SMEs, marketplaces and retail e-commerce sites to prepare for e-export, exhibit and promote Turkish products and brands online in foreign markets, and ensure fast delivery of foreign orders, covering the entire e-export ecosystem.

In addition, expenses related to the activities for the establishment of "E-Export Consortiums" and "Türkiye E-Export Platform," which will enable companies to realize e-export, will also be supported.

“In the commercial life that crosses borders in world trade, all necessary opportunities are provided for exporters and producers to protect their market shares and expand to more markets effectively,” the statement read.

“We continue to work to strengthen and develop the e-export pillar in the name of developing exports, which is the locomotive of the Turkish economy.”

Meanwhile, central government budget outlays on Research and Development (R&D) activities amounted to 53.8 billion Turkish Liras ($2.53 billion) in 2022, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced yesterday.

The ratio of R&D expenditures from the central government budget was 1.66 percent and they constituted 0.36 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The highest R&D funding went to universities for general advancement of knowledge with 63.3 percent in 2022, followed by defense with 10.9 percent and industrial production and technology with 6.1 percent.

According to the provisional results based on initial budget appropriations, Türkiye has allocated 76.1 billion Turkish Liras ($2.82 billion) on R&D activities in the central government budget in 2023.