Export revenue target for 2023 set at $275 billion: TİM

Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TİM) President Mustafa Gültepe says the export revenue target this year has been set at $275 billion.

If exports had not slowed in the last three months of 2022, export revenues could have been much higher than $254 billion, Gültepe told Hürriyet.

He is optimistic that economic activity will recover in Europe, the U.S. and other countries. "The second half of 2022 will be brighter for the Turkish economy," Gültepe said.

He recalled that exports grew more than 30 percent in 2021, and similar increases were recorded in the first seven months of last year. "But, the pace of export growth eased from double-digits to single-digits in the last three months of 2022. However, despite this weakness, export revenues exceeded the $250 billion target set for last year."

According to data from the Trade Ministry, Türkiye's exports grew nearly 13 percent in 2022 from 2021 to amount to $254.2 billion.

Gültepe noted that the textile and apparel industries suffer first from any contraction in the markets.

"We are now seeing such signs. The ferrous and non-ferrous industry is also facing problems. Demand is weak for jewelry and carpets. Half of our 25 to 26 sectors report decline while the other half of the industries see increases."

The performance of the automotive, defense and cement sectors has been strong, he added.

Gültepe linked the poor export performance toward the end of last year to weak demand from Europe, which absorbs around 50 percent of Türkiye's exports.

"Also, during this period, costs declined around the globe as problems related to freight and transport were largely resolved, which dealt a blow to our competitive advantages. We could not offer competitive prices due to...