Trade Ministry

The Trade Ministry has launched a probe into the automotive market to securitize prices and supplies.

Inspectors have been appointed to look into the activities that allegedly aimed at distorting the market for new and second-hand cars, causing bottlenecks and preventing consumers from accessing vehicles, Trade Minister Mehmet Muş said on Twitter.

More businesses have decided to join large supermarket chains in freezing prices as consumer inflation started to show signs of slipping last month with officials expecting a downward trend in inflation to continue in the coming months.

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.

Despite the growing tensions between Greece and Türkiye, the ports of Thessaloniki and İzmir were connected by ferry as of Oct. 12.

The maiden voyage was set from Thessaloniki to İzmir with "Smyrna di Levante," a vessel that is 160 meters in length and 23 meters in width and is owned by the Greek-based shipping company, Levante Ferries.

The government is preparing to impose heavy fines, up to 300,000 Turkish Liras ($16,400), on those who violate a recent regulation that introduced certain restrictions on the sale of second-hand cars.

The government has moved to scrutinize export of tinned tomato and tomato paste in a bid to prevent a possible price hike in the domestic market amid rising demand from Europe for Turkish agricultural products.

The Trade Ministry added those products to the list of goods whose export require permission from authorities.

Foreign trade transactions made in Turkish Liras have been on the rise, reaching 34.2 billion liras in August, data from the Trade Ministry show.

Last month, exports in local currency grew 109 percent on an annual basis to 10.4 billion liras, while imports climbed from only 8.2 billion liras in August 2021 to 23.8 billion liras.

More and more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other businesses are turning to e-export after the government granted tax breaks of up to 50 percent to micro exporters last year.

The government aims to strengthen trade with public and private sector investments, Trade Minister Mehmet Muş has said, noting that Türkiye has been constantly increasing its share of the global exports.

According to the provisional data, produced with the cooperation of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) and the Trade Ministry, Türkiye's exports in July were $18.5 billion with a 13.4 percent increase and imports were $29.2 billion with a 41.4 percent increase compared to July 2021.