MAKFED Chairman Adnan Dalgakiran said, “In 2023, Turkiye’s total machinery exports, including free zones, increased by 11% annually, reaching $28.1 billion.”
Turkish Machinery Federation (MAKFED) Chairman Adnan Dalgakiran stated that the country’s total machinery exports, including free zones, in 2023 increased by 11% on an annual basis to $28.1 billion, and said: “Turkiye’s machinery and equipment investments have been growing for the last 16 quarters during and after the pandemic. This situation has reinforced our belief in our $30 billion export target for 2024, despite the stagnation in Europe, our important market.”
Dalgakiran made an evaluation to the AA correspondent regarding the investment and export activities in the Turkish machinery sector.
Informing that MAKFED was established in 2014, Dalgakiran said that during this period, they operated as the parent organization of 33 associations, representing approximately 55 thousand companies. Dalgakiran pointed out that the machinery market has reached a size of $60 billion and stated that the sector employs approximately 500 thousand people.
Reminding that Turkiye’s machinery exports broke a record with $25.5 billion in 2022, including free zones, Dalgakiran stated that despite the Covid-19 epidemic, there has been an increase of nearly 75% in machinery exports in the last 5 years. Dalgakiran pointed out that the machinery sector is the driving force of the economy and that the level of productivity should be further increased in a period when global competition increases, and said:
“In 2023, when the world was stagnating, Turkiye’s total machinery exports, including free zones, increased by 11% annually, reaching $28.1 billion. Turkiye’s machinery and equipment investments have been growing for the last 16 quarters during and after the pandemic period. This situation has strengthened our belief in our $30 billion export target for 2024, despite the stagnation in Europe, our important market.”
“Actions to prevent unqualified goods from being placed on the market should be accelerated”
Dalgakiran pointed out that the increase in exports from the sector’s average export price per kilogram of $6.2 to $7.2 in 2023 is also an important factor, and stated that they aim to increase this increase to $15, which is the European average, with R&D and innovation.
Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Simsek, in his evaluation of the gross domestic product (GDP) data for 2023 announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute, said: “Approximately one-third of the growth in 2023 came from machinery and equipment investments that increased our productive capacity.” Referring to his statement, Dalgakiran said:
“Turkiye’s machinery and equipment investments have grown for the last 16 quarters during and after the pandemic, as well as the fact that the changing balances under the pandemic conditions have increased Turkiye’s attractiveness, especially for Europe, as well as the growth-oriented policies implemented in the country. This situation undoubtedly triggers domestic machinery demand. On the other hand, Far East policies, which became aggressive with the subsidies they received after the pandemic, fueled our machinery imports to increase by 85% in the last 4 years, reaching $45.6 billion. It is essential to take effective measures to protect the Far East from unfair competition of unqualified and dumped goods in global competition.”
Dalgakiran stated that the aspects of the investment incentive legislation that facilitate imports should be reviewed and that it should be structured to support domestic goods, and that they expect the Public Procurement Law and its exceptions, in which the state is directly or indirectly involved, as well as practices that prefer domestic goods in purchases such as public-private cooperation projects, to be activated.
Dalgakiran emphasized that it is very important to “accelerate actions that will prevent the supply of unqualified goods to the market in 2024”, which is among the measures in the 12th Development Plan, and said that MAKFED will support the work to be done with its member associations on this issue.
“We should be able to develop customer financing tools like our competitors”
Dalgakiran pointed out that the lack of applications equivalent to the customer financing structure of developed countries in machinery manufacturing at a sufficient level in Turkiye negatively affects the competitiveness of manufacturers, and said:
“As seen in most developed countries, companies can support their customers in the domestic and foreign markets with long-term, low-interest financial instruments in machine sales. This situation can make manufacturing companies vulnerable in the market due to the lack of suitable financial solutions, even if they can manufacture machines that are advantageous in terms of quality and price. Therefore, we consider it important to develop customer financing instruments for Turk Eximbank’s machinery exports, as well as attractive lending elements for the Turkish Development and Investment Bank and public banks for domestic machinery investments in the domestic market. We must be able to develop customer financing tools like our competitors.”
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz