Minister of Trade Omer Bolat said that in the last 20 years, the image of Turkish goods has become the symbol of quality, design, durability, brand, fast delivery and successful after-sales service in Europe and the world.
International Istanbul Furniture Fair-IIFF 2024, organized simultaneously by the Federation of Furniture Associations (MOSFED), in cooperation with MOS Fair Organization and Tuyap Fair Organization, at Tuyap Congress and Fair Center and Istanbul Expo Center, has started.
Speaking at the opening ceremony held at the Istanbul Expo Center, Minister Bolat stated that global exports and trade slowed down in 2023, and there was a decline of 5.6%.
Minister of Commerce Bolat stated that for the first time in Turkiye, 2 separate fair centers joined forces and organized this fair in 26 halls and said:
“Thank God, our exporters exported goods worth $255.8 billion in 2023. Wherever the exporters are, we are there. As the Ministry of Commerce, we stand by our exporters with all our resources and 60% of our budget. Records were broken again in service exports. In 2023, our service exporters gave us a good record with $100 billion of services exports. We have made great progress in 21 years with our President’s strong leadership, vision, stable economy and political management.
In this context, we recorded an approximately 7-fold increase in our goods exports and a 6.5-fold increase in our service exports. Our share in world goods exports increased from 0.55% to 1.06%. Hopefully, our economic growth will continue to accelerate under the leadership of our exports in the Turkiye’s Century. This year, we aim to export $267 billion of goods and $110 billion of service exports. If we exceed this, it will be a great success, but if we achieve the target, we will break records.”
“The target is $375 billion of goods exports in 2028”
Minister Bolat pointed out that they target $375 billion of goods exports and $200 billion of service exports in 2028, “In the last 20 years, the image of Turkish goods has truly become the symbol of quality, design, durability, brand, fast delivery and successful after-sales service in Europe and the world.”
Stating that investors and industrialists from both Europe and the USA, as well as investors from the Gulf countries, want to come to Turkiye, Bolat said, “They want to invest in Turkiye and cooperate with business people and industrialists. They have told us this many times.”
Bolat stated that many sectors in Turkiye are struggling for world leadership today and continued as follows:
“We are proud of this. In 2004, the furniture industry’s exports were around $250-$300 million. Our friends were saying, ‘Our goal is to reach $1 billion in 2010,’ but they said this without much belief, as if this was a utopian goal. They achieved this, and when we look at it today, thank God, our exports reached $4.5 billion, and the 2028 target is $20 billion within $375 billion. I hope they will achieve this target, with $12 billion for furniture and $8 billion for wood products.”
Bolat underlined that the Turkish furniture industry rose from 36th place in the world to 11th in 2021, 9th in 2022 and 7th in 2023.
Stating that this is a great success, Bolat said, “Our market share in world furniture exports was 0.43% in 2002. We reached 2 percent in 2022. We have achieved a 5-fold growth. From design to branding, from environmentally friendly products to quality design, our furniture industry continues on its way by increasing its added value.”
Pointing out that they support the fair up to the upper limit of ₺222 thousand 500 per participating company, Bolat said, “Hopefully, we will continue this support by increasing in 2025. We organize the arrival of purchasing delegations from abroad and provide grant support by covering those expenses.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz