Automotive Exports December 2022

Trade Ministry working to diversify export markets
The Trade Ministry is working to diversify
Türkiye’s export markets as demand from
the European Union is expected to weaken,
Trade Minister Mehmet Muş has said.
Global risks and uncertainties are likely
to heighten for Türkiye too in the period
ahead and demand from the European
Union, which is foreseen to lose
momentum further produces risks for
the country’s exports, Muş said, speaking
at the parliament’s budget and planning
commission.
“That’s why we are working on plans,
which are designed to diversity markets
by channeling our exporters to alternative
markets,” the minister added.
Muş noted that 328 actions which targets
18 nations, have already been taken under
the “distant countries” strategy, which
aims to increase Türkiye’s exports to those
countries fourfold.
The minister recalled that Türkiye’s exports
increased by 15.4 percent in the first ten
months of 2022 compared with the same
period of last year to $209.5 billion, with
sales to the Americas recording the highest
increase.
“Exports to the European Union, our
largest trading partner rose by 13.5
percent,” said Muş, noting that Türkiye’s
trade surplus with the bloc reached $9.7
billion.
The trade surplus with the U.K amounted
to $6 billion, he added.
“This success was achieved despite the
adverse impacts from the U.S dollar to euro
exchange rate.”
Muş also stressed the effects of high
energy prices on Türkiye’s import bill.
Some 63 percent of the increase in the
country’s imports stemmed from the
energy and gold imports, he explained.
“Our energy imports grew by 118.4 percent
or by $43.7 billion in the first ten months
of 2022 from a year ago. This increase
was due to the [energy] prices. Our gold
imports rose by 198.4 percent or $10.1
billion over the same period compared
with the ten months of 2021,” Muş
explained.
Türkiye’s overall imports amounted to
$300.6 billion in January-October, rising
39.5 percent year-on-year, according to the
latest data from the Trade Ministry.
The country’s foreign trade deficit soared
168.5 percent to $91.1 billion.
In October alone, exports increased by 2.8
percent on an annual basis to $21.3 billion,
while the increase in imports was 31.9
percent to $29.3 billion. The foreign trade
gap widened more than 430 percent yearon-year
to $8 billion.
Meanwhile, the Istanbul Chamber of
Industry’s (ISO) Türkiye manufacturing
export climate index dropped to 47.9 in
October from 48.8 in September.
“Demand conditions in export markets
have now deteriorated in three successive
months, with the latest moderation the
sharpest since the initial wave of the
COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020,” the
chamber said in a statement.
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