Exports of building and construction materials from the Eastern Black Sea Region increased by 17% in 5 months and reached $28 million 591 thousand 505.
Eastern Black Sea Exporters Union Deputy Chairman of the Board Ahmet Hamdi Gurdogan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that 92 thousand 580 tons of building and construction materials were exported to 36 countries from Trabzon, Rize, Artvin and Gumushane in the January-May period.
Stating that $28 million 591 thousand 505 were gained in return for these exports, Gurdogan stated that the exports of construction and construction materials increased by 28% in amount and 17% in value compared to the same period of the previous year, which earned $24 million 362 thousand 593 in return for 72 thousand 284 tons.
Pointing out that approximately 82% of exports are made to Georgia and Georgia prefers the region due to its proximity, fast delivery, price and quality advantages, Gurdogan stated that this country is followed by Azerbaijan, Croatia and the Russian Federation, respectively.
“We will organize trade delegation programs within the scope of the project”
Noting that Trabzon and the provinces of the region have significant experience in the construction and building materials sector, Gurdogan noted that they started to develop and implement a UR-GE project within the scope of Supporting the Development of International Competitiveness, under the coordination of the Ministry of Trade, in order for the sector to use this experience effectively in foreign markets.
Gurdogan stated that they will organize trade delegation programs to the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with the representatives of the construction and building materials sector in the first place within the scope of the project, “Afterwards, we will lead the sector to find new markets with trade programs for the Middle East, Gulf countries and Sub-Saharan African countries for the market diversity of the sector.”
Stating that a sufficient share could not be obtained from the imports of the markets of the neighboring countries, Gurdogan concluded his words as follows:
“Even in the Georgian market, which has a total import volume of $1 billion 22 million, the share of the region is at the level of 3%. We will also work on increasing this share to at least 20%. In the same way, we will focus on foreign programs in order to get an effective share from the Russian market, which imports construction and building materials at the level of $12 billion 500 million.”
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz