Trade Ministry

The Finance Ministry's Tax Inspection Board has put companies that jack up prices despite no significant rise in costs and sectors where firms are suspected of engaging in cartel practices on its radar.

The board is working to identify firms that make profits above the sector average but failed to report their income properly in tax declarations.

The Trade Ministry has initiated an investigation into restaurants and cafes that have imposed a minimum spending limit of 1,500 Turkish Liras (around $43) on their customers, a practice deemed both unethical and unlawful.

Türkiye aims to boost its exports to the economies under the Distant Countries Strategy to $50 billion by 2028, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat has said.

Among the 18 targeted countries under the strategy are the U.S., Canada, Mexico, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, India and Brazil.

Türkiye's foreign trade deficit widened by 23.3 percent to $7.4 billion in November from a year ago, but the 11-month trade gap shrank 27 percent, official data showed on Dec. 2.

Exports were down 3.1 percent year-on-year to $22.3 billion, while the country's imports grew by 2.4 percent to $29.65 billion last month, the Trade Ministry said.

In a bid to showcase the rich tradition of Turkish tea, the Trade Ministry is bringing expert tea brewers from the Black Sea province of Rize to Japan from Dec. 11 to 13, where they will host classes and competitions, offering a taste of the country's finest tea craftsmanship to Japanese enthusiasts.

Türkiye has introduced new regulations impacting purchases from abroad via mail or express cargo, with an updated article significantly altering how product valuation and customs processes will be handled.

A restaurant in Uludağ, Türkiye's famous ski resort, is facing backlash after raising the price of its signature soup to 1,000 Turkish Liras ($29) per bowl — double the cost from just last winter.

The Trade Ministry has declared that gram weight information should be embedded in the tariff and pricing lists for hamburger, döner and İskender kebab in a bid to deliver customers comprehensive and explicit information.

Trade Minister Ömer Bolat is embarking on a two-day visit to Iraq, seeking to boost economic cooperation.

Bolat's visit, accompanied by delegations from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) and Turkish Contractors Association (TMB), will include stops in the capital Baghdad and the southern city of Basra, Trade Ministry sources said.

Turkish contractors have secured $17.6 billion in international projects in the first 10 months of the year, according to data from the Trade Ministry.

Despite challenges like the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, Turkish contractors continue to thrive.