Turkiye registers highest exports in May

Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mush has announced May as the month with the highest exports indicators in 2022.

He made the statement at the press conference with Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) President İsmail Gülle at the Trade Ministry's conference hall, TRT Haber reports.

"In the first five months of 2022, our country maintained its strong export performance. Our exports increased by 15.2 per cent in May compared to the same month the previous year, reaching $19 billion dollars. This is the highest May export ever. As a result, we achieved the highest monthly export values in the first five months of 2022, breaking records," he said. 

The minister stated that the foreign trade volume in May increased by 31.1 per cent compared to the previous year and rose to $48.6 billion, while the import in May was $29.6 billion.

"The reason for the increase in imports is energy prices"

Noting that the energy item occupied an important place in imports with a share of $6.9 billion in May, Mush said:

"As a net energy importer country, Turkiye, which is highly integrated with global markets, is not affected by energy prices. I would like to underline once again that the main reason for the increase in our imports is the increasing energy prices in the world. At this point, January-May period, our exports reached $96.8 billion, excluding energy, and our foreign trade volume increased to $202.8 billion. In addition, the import coverage ratio of our exports in the same period was 91.3 percent, excluding energy. With our 12-month exports, we are approaching the $250 billion export target pointed out by our president for the end of 2022, with determined steps."

Stating that the world economy has been going through important tests since 2020, Mush said that the global economy could not fully leave the winter behind in the current period.

Noting that the problems in the global economy have combined to cause a new global crisis, Mush noted that despite the increasing demand in the post-pandemic period, supply problems have become chronic due to the continuation of raw material and logistics-related disruptions in supply chains, and this situation brings with it an increase in global inflation.

He pointed out that the Russia-Ukraine war was added to these developments. Mush stated that according to the World Bank, the war created the biggest supply shock in commodity markets in recent years.

He evaluated the global economic developments given that the European Union (EU) decided to impose an oil embargo on Russia until the end of the year and the quarantine measures in China were lifted to a large extent as of June 1, the rise in oil prices accelerated, while sharp rises were recorded in the prices of other energy and food commodities.

"The next two years will be very difficult, especially in underdeveloped countries"

Foreseeing that the next two years will be very difficult, especially in underdeveloped countries, Minister Mush said that the measures taken to combat inflation strengthen the possibility of a global recession.

He added that weakening growth means a decrease in export revenues for many countries and that while everyone is talking about global inflation, there is also a growing global debt crisis in the background.

Stating that while the global debt level broke a record, the strengthening of the US dollar made it difficult for developing countries to pay their debts, Mush said:

"In such a global environment, the Turkish economy continued the growth momentum it achieved in 2021 in the first quarter of 2022 as well. Turkiye achieved a 7.3 per cent gross domestic product increase in the first quarter of 2022 and successfully maintained its high economic growth performance. Our country continued its economic growth for seven uninterrupted quarters and once again positively differentiated from the world in this field. If we look at the details of our growth rate, the contribution of net exports to the growth experienced in the first quarter of the year was approximately 3.5 points, with this figure almost half of the growth came from net exports. In other words, our exports once again shouldered growth," he added.

Mush stated that the capacity utilisation rate in the manufacturing industry increased by 0.2 points in May compared to the previous month, reaching 78 per cent, citing the Industrial Production Index as one of the leading indicators of growth and indicating that the wheels are turning in industrial production.

Emphasizing that the aforementioned data point to the fact that economic growth is based on a balanced and sustainable basis, Mush said: "In other words, Turkiye is increasing its production power day by day and accelerating its breakthroughs in the industry," the minister said.

"We continue commercial diplomacy indefinitely"

Mush stated that as the Ministry, they continue their commercial diplomacy activities uninterruptedly in order to pave the way for exporters in the increasingly difficult global business environment, and explained that they comprehensively evaluated bilateral trade and economic relations with countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, Algeria, Colombia, Ethiopia and Pakistan throughout May.

Pointing out that they carry out intensive consultations with the umbrella organisations of the business world, apart from official contacts, Mush said that they continue their efforts to facilitate foreign trade without slowing down.

He reminded that they have implemented innovations that will contribute to the country's becoming a centre of attraction in transit trade.

"I believe that our exporters will continue to do their part to increase our exports of high value-added goods and services in these difficult times," the minister said.

Stating that the way to increase the economic welfare of the country is through high added value production with the help of qualified workforce and technology, Mush added:

"The share of actors who adapt to technology and sustainability trends early and increase productivity by making investment decisions in this direction will definitely increase. This is the only way for Turkiye to get ahead of its peers... We express the employment and export equation at every opportunity. As the ministry, we will continue to stand by you with all our means and in the strongest way possible to move our country among the leading countries in value-added exports, as we have done so far. I believe that it will be the main element of our economic growth. In this regard, we will build on the progress we have made in our industry in recent years. I am confident that we will be able to sustain the current growth environment, which is driven by exports and investments."