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Turkey’s Exports Hit USD 18.76 Billion in April 2021

​​Minister of Trade Mehmet Muş unveiled Turkey’s April 2021 foreign trade statistics on May 3.

Accordingly, Turkey’s exports rose 109.02 percent year-on-year in April 2021, reaching USD 18.76 billion -all-time April high-. Exports in the January-April 2021 period also rose 33.1 percent when compared to the same period of the previous year reaching USD 68.75 billion. Turkey’s foreign trade volume witnessed an increase of 80.37 percent in April and 25.47 percent in the first four months of the year, reaching USD 40.65 billion and USD 151.66 billion respectively. Meanwhile, foreign trade deficit in April 2021 receded by 31.9 percent to USD 3.1 billion from USD 4.6 billion in April 2020.

Increase in April 2021 exports was mainly driven by the exports of motor vehicles with USD 2.1 billion, machinery with USD 1.87 billion and iron & steel with USD 1.28 billion.

Germany was the top export destination for Turkey in April with USD 1.65 billion, followed by the US with USD 1.18 billion and the UK with USD 1.03 billion.

The number of exporting companies in Turkey, which stood at 30,112 in April 2020, increased by 49.4 percent reaching 44,988 in April 2021.​

Source: Republic of Turkey Investment Office
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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Capacity Utilization in Turkey’s Manufacturing Industry inched 0.6 points higher in April 2021 compared to the previous month

Capacity Utilization in Turkey’s Manufacturing Industry Increases

​​The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) released reports of the Capacity Utilization Rate (CUR) of Manufacturing Industry and the Investment Tendency Statistics.

CBRT figures revealed the CUR of manufacturing industry inched 0.6 points higher in April 2021 compared to the previous month, aggregating a solid 76.2 percent in total. The CUR for intermediate goods manufacturing, seen as vital to foreign trade balance, rallied to a 78.8 percent, the highest since September 2018.

The figures are based on the resposes given to its Business Tendency Survey by local units operating in the manufacturing industry, according to CBRT.

Meanwhile, gross investment expenditures in 2020 increased by 26.3 percent annually, exceeding the expectation of 8.7 percent in the previous survey, announced CBRT in its Investment Tendency Statistics Report.

Additionally, the report revised up projections for 2021 investment expenditures, forecasting a 44.4 percent rise compared to 2020.

The Investment Survey is conducted by the CBRT in full compliance with the “Joint Harmonised European Union Programme of Business and Consumer Surveys”.​​​

Source: Republic of Turkey Investment Office
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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Turkish Startups Received USD 508 Million Investment in Q1

In the first quarter of 2021, 61 startups raised USD 508 million from angel investors and venture capital funds, setting a record for the Turkish startup ecosystem.

According to Startup.Watch’s “Turkish Startup Ecosystem Quarterly Report-Q1 2021″, Getir became the second unicorn in Turkey with a valuation of USD 2.6 billion. Led by Dream Games, which received the highest investment after Getir, the activity in the gaming industry continued in 2021 with 15 gaming startups receiving USD 60 million investment in the first quarter.

Turkey ranked 10th in Europe and 2nd in the Middle East and North Africa angel and venture capital investment leagues. ​​​

Source: Republic of Turkey Investment Office
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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Turkey Climbs Up To 11th Place Globally In Terms of GDP

​​​The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its GDP forecasts for countries around the world in its latest World Economic Outlook April 2021 report.

Accordingly, growth forecast for the Turkish economy has been revised upwards to 6 percent in 2021, up from 5.5 percent. With this, Turkey is among the top three emerging economies with the highest growth expectations for 2021 after India and China.​

Meanwhile, Turkey climbed up to 11th place globally in terms of GDP at PPP in 2020—up from a 13th place in 2019.​

Source: Republic of Turkey Investment Office
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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Turkish merchandise exports in the first quarter of 2021 increased by 17.25%, compared to the previous year

Developments in Turkey’s External Merchandise Trade in the First Quarter of 2021

After a continuing strong performance in the last quarter of 2020 (Figure1), Turkish merchandise exports amounted to 50 billion 23 million US dollars in the first quarter of 2021 with an increase of 17.25% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, merchandise imports increased by 9.67% and reached 61 billion 67 million US dollars. Foreign trade volume in the first quarter of 2021 realized as 111 billion 91 million US dollars with a significant increase of 12.96% compared to same period of the previous year. In the first quarter of 2021, the export/import coverage ratio reached to 81.9% from 76.6% of the first quarter of 2020.

Despite the negative effects of the pandemic, exports started to recover in the third quarter of 2020 and realized as 43.3 billion US dollars. In the last quarter of the year, the growth phase started and the quarterly exports exceeded 50 billion US dollars for the first time and reached 51.3 billion US dollars, the highest quarterly Turkish export figure ever. This positive trend continued in the beginning of 2021. Merchandise exports exceeded $ 50 billion in the first quarter of 2021, showing all-time high first-quarter figure (Figure 2).

In March 2021, exports reached the highest monthly value (18 billion 985 million US dollars) in the history of the Republic of Turkey.

In the first quarter of 2021, according to the broad economic activities categories classification (BEC), the export value of intermediate, consumption and capital goods were 24 billion 567 million US dollars, 19 billion 511 million US dollars and 5 billion 681 million US dollars, respectively. In the same period of 2021, the import value of intermediate, capital and consumption goods were 46 billion 13 million US dollars, 8 billion 652 million US dollars and 6 billion 306 million US dollars, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2021, Turkey exported motor land vehicles (6 billion 592 million US dollars), machinery (4 billion 952 million US dollars) and iron and steel (2 billion 784 million US dollars) most. In the same period, mineral fuels and oils (8 billion 734 million US dollar), machinery (7 billion 345 million US dollars) and iron and steel (5 billion 734 million US dollars)   were what Turkey imported most.

In the first quarter of 2021, the number of exporter companies increased by 12.3% compared to the previous year and exceeded 63.900. The number of importer companies was 116.334 in the same period.

In the first quarter of 2021, the main export destination for Turkish exports was Germany representing an export value of 4 billion 627 million US dollars. Germany was followed by the USA and United Kingdom with 3 billion 91 million US dollars and 2 billion 841 million US dollars of exports, respectively. In the same period of 2021, the top origin for Turkey’s imports was China with 7 billion 252 million US dollars. The country was followed by Russia and Germany with 6 billion 94 million US dollars and 5 billion 450 million US dollars of imports, respectively.

Figure 1. Quarterly Export Volume Index (2014 Q1=100, SA)

Source: World Trade Organization

Figure 2. Turkey’s Quarterly Merchandise Exports (Billion US Dollar)

Source: Ministry of Trade and TURKSTAT

Figure 3. The Main Partners for Export and Import (Thousand US Dollar)

Source: Ministry of Trade and TURKSTAT

Source: Republic of Turkey Ministry of Trade Data
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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Banks’ short-term external debt stock increased by 4.1 percent to USD 58.0 billion in Turkey

18.02.2021

Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Head Office

Short-Term External Debt Statistics Developments

December 2020

  • Short-term external debt stock recorded USD 138.7 billion at the end of December, indicating an increase of 12.9 percent compared to the end of 2019. Specifically, in this period, banks’ short-term external debt stock increased by 4.1 percent to USD 58.0 billion and other sectors’ short-term external debt stock increased by 1.0 percent to USD 59.3 billion.
  • Short-term FX loans of the banks received from abroad increased by 17.3 percent to USD 8.9 billion. FX deposits of non-residents (except banking sector) within residents banks decreased by 4.6 percent in comparison to the end of 2019 recording USD 20.1 billion, and FX deposits of non-resident banks recorded USD 13.2 billion decreasing by 1.1 percent. In addition, non-residents’ Turkish lira deposits increased by 15.3 percent and recorded USD 15.7 billion.
  • Trade credits due to imports under other sectors recorded USD 53.4 billion reflecting an increase of 5.4 percent compared to the end of 2019.
  • From the borrowers side, the short-term debt of public sector, which consists of public banks, increased by 2.5 percent to USD 25.6 billion and the short-term debt of private sector increased by 2.5 percent to USD 91.7 billion compared to the end of 2019.
  • From the creditors side, short-term debt to monetary institutions under private creditors item increased by 35.3 percent to USD 61.0 billion and short-term debt to non-monetary institutions decreased by 0.2 percent to USD 77.3 billion. Short-term bond issues amounted to 456 million as of the end of December increasing from USD 67 million observed at the end of 2019. In the same period, short-term debt to official creditors recorded USD 84 million.
  • As of end of December, the currency breakdown of short-term external debt stock composed of 43.6 percent US dollars, 28.3 percent euro, 13.1 percent Turkish lira and 15.0 percent other currencies.
  • Short-term external debt stock on a remaining maturity basis, calculated based on the external debt maturing within 1 year or less regarding of the original maturity, recorded USD 188.8 billion, of which USD 16.4 billion belongs to the resident banks and private sectors to the banks’ branches and affiliates abroad. From the borrowers side, public sector accounted for 22.0 percent, Central Bank accounted for 11.3 percent and private sector accounted 66.7 percent in total stock.

Source: Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Head Office
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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In 2020, Turkey’s merchandise exports decreased by 6.3% compared to the previous year

18.02.2021

Developments in Turkey’s External Merchandise Trade in 2020

In 2020, merchandise exports amounted to 169 billion 482 million US dollars with a decrease of 6.3% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, merchandise imports increased by 4.3% and reached 219 billion 397 million US dollars. Imports excluding gold fell by 2.4% to 194 billion 213 million US dollars. Foreign trade volume in 2020 realized as 388 billion 879 million US dollars with a slight decline of 0.59% compared to the previous year. In 2020, the export/import coverage ratio was 77.2%. The export/import coverage ratio excluding gold realized as 85.8% (Figure 1).
Since March, the world economies have been dealing with severe economic recession due to the Covid-19 epidemic, which has caused significant contraction in the whole world economy. As a result, Turkish exports declined to 32.4 billion US dollars in the second quarter of 2020. Despite the negative effects of the pandemic, exports started to recover in the third quarter of the year. In the third quarter of the year, exports increased by 33.8 percent compared to the previous quarter and reached 43.3 billion US dollars with a rapid recovery. In the last quarter of the year, the growth phase started and the quarterly exports exceeded 50 billion US dollars for the first time and reached 51.2 billion US dollars, the highest quarterly Turkish export figure ever (Figure 2). In terms of international comparison, Turkey showed strong performance in the second half of 2020 (Figure 3). In December 2020, exports reached the highest monthly value (17 billion 850 million US dollars) in the history of the Republic of Turkey. In the same period, the export/import coverage ratio reached 87.0% excluding gold.

In 2020, the main export destination for Turkish exports was Germany representing an export value of 15 billion 975 million US dollars. Germany was followed by the United Kingdom and the USA with 11 billion 237 million US dollars and 10 billion 184 million US dollars of exports, respectively. In the same year, the top origin for Turkey’s imports was China with 23 billion 20 million US dollars. The country was followed by Germany and Russia with 21 billion 714 million US dollars and 17 billion 859 million US dollars of imports, respectively.

In 2020, according to the broad economic activities categories classification, the export value of intermediate, consumption and capital goods were 80 billion 276 million US dollars, 68 billion 210 million US dollars and 19 billion 782 million US dollars, respectively. In the same year, the import value of intermediate, capital and consumption goods were 162 billion 924 million US dollars, 31 billion 811 million US dollars and 24 billion 95 million US dollars, respectively.
In 2020, Turkey exported motor land vehicles (22 billion 79 million US dollars), machinery (16 billion 783 million US dollars) and electrical machines and devices (9 billion 300 million US dollars) most. In the same year, mineral fuels and oils (28 billion 931 million US dollar), precious or semi-precious stones (26 billion 590 million US dollars) and machinery (25 billion 249 million US dollars) were what Turkey imported most.
In 2020, the number of exporter companies increased by 3.6% compared to the previous year and exceeded 87,400. The number of companies exporting for the first time in 2020 was 18.123.

Source: Republic of Turkey Ministry of Trade
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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Domestic Goods Certificates approved in January 2021 increased by 10.3% compared to January 2020

18.02.2021

According to the Domestic Goods Communiqué (SGM 2014/35), which was prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Technology in accordance with Article 63 of the Public Procurement Law No. 4734 and published in the Official Gazette dated September 13, 2014 and numbered 29118, TOBB approved 1,464 Domestic Goods Certificates in January 2021.​

In January 2021, there are 1,427 Domestic Goods Certificates active in the system. Of the 1,427 documents active, 900 are high and medium-high-tech, and 527 are medium-low and low-tech.

Of the domestic goods documents approved in January, 391 were İstanbul, 226 in Ankara, 186 in İzmir, 90 in Tekirdağ, 88 in Adana, 62 in Konya, 45 in Antalya, 41 in Kocaeli, 35 in Bursa and 24 in Sakarya.

In January 2021, 1,464 Domestic Goods Certificates were approved, an increase of 10.3% compared to January 2020 (137). The total number of Active Domestic Goods Documents in the TOBB Domestic Goods Certificate Database was determined to be 15,532.

Source: The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB)
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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German DHL Makes New Investments in Turkey

16.02.2021

​Frank Appel, CEO of the German logistics leader Deutsche Post DHL Group, pledged further investment in Turkey in his statement to Turkish media.
Appel said, “DHL is investing EUR 135 million to build a state-of-the-art operation center at the new Istanbul Airport. We are ready to enlarge our operations in Turkey as it offers great opportunities for investors to grow and enhance their export activities.”
Appel further stated that DHL will doubtlessly make new investments in Turkey in the future by adding more service centers and warehouses.
Airing his hopeful opinions on the global economy in the post-COVID-19 period, he said, “Despite the pandemic’s large devastating effects on all sectors, the consumer behavior has changed with the rise of e-commerce. We will see further increase in online sales and an acceleration in the B2B sector again in 2021.”

Source: Republic of Turkey Investment Office
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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Turkey’s Specialized Free Zones Primed for Investments

16.02.2021

Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan called on international investors to look out for opportunities in Turkey, addressing the questions of Anadolu Agency (AA).
Minister Pekcan underlined the fact that Turkey offers investors a wide range of incentives, particularly for innovation and technology-oriented investments in the specialized free zones (SFZs). “We plan to expand the SFZ model for other high-tech and high value-added industries in the future”, Minister Pekcan said. “It was initially rolled out for the software and information technology sector. But now I invite investors to consider offshoring to Turkey’s SFZs,” the minister added.
Turkey’s qualifications, including its competitive edge in logistics, young and qualified labor, robust manufacturing capabilities and highly developed infrastructure set her apart from other investment destinations, Minister Pekcan highlighted.

Source: Republic of Turkey Investment Office
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

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