Turkish exporters are developing a Plan B to export their products due to the losses they are incurring in Europe. According to Dunya, a newspaper of Turkish business circles, it is planned to prioritize the countries of Central Asia, the Middle East, and Russia.
The newspaper notes that Europe remains the main market for Turkey, accounting for about 45% of its exports, but the economic downturn on the continent, caused by global and regional reasons, has recently resulted in losses exceeding 10% for Turkish manufacturers of ready-made apparel, clothing, and textile industries. Turkey is increasing its efforts in other areas as it is developing export plans through 2028.
"The exports of ready-made apparel to the European Union, which is our main market, have dropped from 70 to 59 percent. We have focused on filling the void caused by the lack of demand in the EU market by providing supplies to Russia, the Middle East, and the Gulf countries," Ramazan Kaya, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Finished Products Manufacturers of Turkey, noted.
"Russia is a promising market for our footwear exports," Berke İçten, Head of the Industry Union, informed. At the same time, he highlighted the growth of shipments to neighboring Iraq, which has become one of the top five countries to which Turkish footwear has been supplied the most this year. Overall, he also considers the European market as the main one for Turkey, however, he notes that the economic situation in the EU countries forces to make adjustments to the export plans.
Based on the results of the current year, Turkey plans to export $265 billion worth of products and to increase it to $400 billion by 2028. The traditional articles of Turkish exports are ready-made clothes, textile, automobiles, metals, machinery and equipment, food, and chemical products.