Automotive Exports March 2021

Turkey to sustain
recovery in foreign
trade, minister says
Turkey will maintain its strong recovery momentum in foreign
trade during the months ahead, the Minister of Trade said.
Leading foreign trade indicators such as the Purchasing
Managers’ Index (PMI) are showing positive signs, Ruhsar
Pekcan said at the virtually held meeting of the Turkish
Chemistry Sector Council.
On Turkey’s export performance, Pekcan underlined that the
country continued its exports “with all our strength and with
great skill, despite the pandemic and all external factors.”
She noted that Turkey had registered an all-time high February
export figure, with a 9.6% year-on-year rise to $16 billion (TL
121.40 billion) and highlighted that investments, production
and exports were among the country’s top priorities.
“Therefore, it’s extremely important that we act in a planned
and programmed manner on a sectoral basis,” she said, adding
that the meeting offered a unique opportunity to discuss the
dynamics of the industry in order to review the country’s goals
and future plans. She said the chemical industry is among
the target sectors under the country’s Export Master Plan
announced in August 2019 for sustainable exports and stressed
that her ministry would continue supporting the sector.
The chemical sector, except solid mineral fuels, saw a 6.2%
year-on-year rise in exports, reaching $17.2 billion in 2020.
In the first two months of 2021, the figure jumped 15.7% to $3
billion. The two-day meeting, organized under the chairmanship
of the Istanbul Chemical and Chemical Products Exporters
Association (IKMIB), will address the current situation and
future expectations of the chemical industry through seven
different sessions.
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