Medikal Teknik September 2018

Interview
fairs offer very important opportunities
in terms of introducing the
products of our exporters, their
brands and making new cooperation.
We anticipate that participation
in the “China International
Import Expo 2018” fair, which will
take place in Shanghai, China
between 5-10 November 2018,
will also be on high level in this
respect.
Our studies have been continuing
to promote the fair, which so
far 41 firms have applied to, to
Turkish exporters and to increase
participation. The fair in question
is extremely important not only
for our exporting firms, but also
for the promotion of Turkey. The
Chinese festival will be organized
for the first time and we regard it
as an important opportunity for our
country. The investment possibilities
and trade opportunities in
Turkey will be introduced to the
visitors on the booth with 136 m 2 ,
whereas Turkish culture will be
promoted.
Could you tell us at which level
Turkey Exporters Assembly
figures are, compared to the
figures made according to
provinces?
According to Turkey Exporters
Assembly (TIM) data, exports rose
11.8 percent in July and reached
14.11 billion dollars. In the dispersion
of the said exports, Istanbul
takes the first place with 6 billion
dollars. The top ten cities are
Istanbul, Bursa, Kocaeli, Izmir, Ankara,
Gaziantep, Sakarya, Manisa,
Denizli and Hatay.
Where are we in the world on
exports R&D studies?
Today, the way of being able to exist
in domestic and foreign trade,
where competition is intense, is
done by R & D. While R & D investments
and studies, which are
the biggest factor in the growth
of the country’s economies, have
come to the forefront in developed
countries, in developing countries,
although not at the desired level
of industry, R & D investments in
Turkey continues to grow each
year.
Researches show that R&D investments
develop innovative and
high-tech products and increase
exports. R&D expenditures of
developed countries are on average
2.5 to 3 per cent of the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP), while the
proportion of developing countries
is less than 1 per cent.
According to the latest explained
data of Turkey Statistical Institute
(TSI), Turkey’s gross domestic R
& D expenditure has risen to 24
billion 641 million TL in 2016 with
an increment of 19.5 percent by
increasing 4 billion 26 million TL,
compared to the previous year.
The ratio of gross domestic R & D
expenditure to GDP is 0.88 percent
in 2015, and rose to 0.94 percent
in 2016.
As we can see from the figures,
Turkey’s R&D allocation ratio
remains under the world average.
It is of utmost importance that
government promotion should be
given by our government through
tax reductions and low-interest investment
loans to R&D activities. It
is necessary that our firms invest
more in R&D researches by making
use of these supports, and their
work needs to be made widespread
in our country.
Could you mention about
protectionism problems that
our exporters face in the world
market?
The concept of protectionism,
which was emerged from the politics
of localization and balancing
economics of the countries, has
changed dimension in recent years
due to political relations of the
countries. Especially after the recent
US-China crisis, we are facing
the risk that this understanding of
protectionism spread in waves by
being accepted also by other countries.
Exporters may encounter
some embargoes against Turkish
products.
Protectionist policies of neighboring
countries such as Iraq, Iran,
Algeria, Egypt (import prohibitions,
additional customs tax, etc.) affect
our exports negatively.
What would you like to say
about being handled innovation
and design by exporters, and
investment in brand and R & D?
The role of exports in Turkey’s
growth and increase in the level of
welfare is huge. Innovation, design
and branding factors come to the
forefront in terms of competing
with the countries and increasing
exports by entering into new
markets. Companies that produce
innovative and high-tech products
are taking part at the forefront of
the world market. It is possible
for the market to be able to create
new designs and produce productions
with high value added only
with research and developments
activities. When we look at the
countries with the greatest economies
of the world, we see that
these countries have reached their
current positions as the result of R
& D activities.
Achieving sustainable exports and
boosting the unit kilogram value of
exports are significantly dependent
on R & D and innovation power. In
this regard, as IKMIB, we support
our exporters with both design
competitions that we organize and
activities such as R & D Project
Market. Giving importance and
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Eylül 2018