THE INCREASE OF IMPORTS FROM TURKEY
Turkey recorded in 2021 a record level of exports USD 225.4 billion which represents an annual increase of 32.9% and dreams of setting itself up as a “world factory” at the gates of Europe, driven by a weak currency and the willingness of multinationals to bring production closer to its main markets.
The Turkish economy has had a commercial opening that has been increasing in recent years. Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Iraq and the USA are the main export countries.
The country aims to reach USD 250 billion by 2022, and is playing its cards close to Europe at a time when rising shipping costs and supply chain problems are leading European companies to reduce their dependence on Asia.
Bringing goods from Asia has become extremely expensive: as a result of container shortages at ports, freight costs have increased more than ninefold since February 2020 between China and northern Europe, according to the Freightos Baltic index.
Spain also consolidated its position as the fourth country to which Turkey exports the most, with textile, steel, automotive and chemical industries standing out.