According to the consolidated systems of the machinery manufacturing industry by the Machinery Exporters Association (MAIB), at the end of the third quarter of the year, Turkey’s total machinery exports, including the free zone, reached 21 billion dollars. An analysis shows that increasing interest rates in the world decrease demand, which limits machinery and equipment investments and leads to a global recession. “We should consider this transition period as new conditions regarding sustainability and additional time for us to adapt to the next period,” he said.
According to the consolidated systems of the machinery manufacturing industry, at the end of the 9th month of the year, total machinery exports within Turkey’s free zone increased by 10.1 percent compared to the same period of the year, reaching 21 billion. The sector, whose production percentage decreased by 6.6 on the basis of quantity, increased its revenues due to the change in the average increase of nearly 20 percent in exports per KG. Most exports were made to Germany, Russia and the USA.
Kutlu Karavelioğlu, President of the Machinery Exporters’ Association, stated that while the slowdown in the main export markets in the world economy continues, they managed to enter the last quarter at a level of 20 billion dollars, which is largely due to the explosions in the technological classes in machinery, and said that Turkey is at the exact moment of the two Wars that ravaged the world. He said that in the middle of the exam results that were hard to believe were stated:
“Unfortunately, a new war has begun in our nearby geography, as the decisions of the central banks of the countries and their current activities and distributions to investments continue to expand. Expenses are being strengthened by uncertainty in a folded Middle East where rising interest rates have hindered demand, limiting investment in machinery and equipment, leading to a global recession. We expect a renewed increase in investments with normal yield to occur in the second half of the new year. We have the patience for this, but of course it is our free wish for peace to prevail among our neighbors.”
Stating that the main source of the problems in the world economy in the first three quarters was high interest rates, expensive energy, inflation and decreasing orders in industry, Karavelioğlu pointed out that the cuts are now doubled and said: “In addition to the embargo and trade restrictions imposed due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the struggle for hegemony between the USA, China and the EU We managed to prevent all negative developments such as Our major problem at the moment is the stagnant indicators in Germany, our largest export market. “We should consider this transition period as new conditions regarding sustainability and additional time for us to adapt to the next period,” he said.
“The green transformation issue is like a revalidation penalty”
Karavelioğlu said that the revival of developed markets is under the dynamism that will be experienced in 2024, and that the preparations to be made for this winter have critical flexibility in order to avoid bureaucratic obstacles regarding green transformation:
“The origin, quality and technology of the products going to the EU and the USA were clear yesterday and are clear today. Therefore, although it seems to be a problem in practice, it is also very clear that we need to be more meticulous about our production inputs. This job is like a revalidation penalty, there is no alarm for the time you miss.
For this reason, we continue to give more importance to green and digital technologies in public-private cooperation, to ensure that this expertise becomes widespread in our export products, and to increase the proliferation and awareness of our companies that have not only met universal standards but also exceeded them. As we raise our image with campaigns based on the fact that Turkey produces technology, we see that the country has strengthened the hand of those who want to see and portray us as another consumption center rather than an investment and production point. “In the coming years, the first quarter will be the time to increase our visibility in all markets, and the second quarter will be the time to receive orders, that is, the consolidated facilities of new businesses.”
Karavelioğlu stated the following by drawing the distribution of the Mundusplus umbrella brand, which focuses on green in the machinery sector in Turkey:
“In the next period, we have planned information meetings about the practical results of the Border Carbon regulation, and even the standards and methods in the course of embedded emissions. We organized a new program of meetings in Berlin with its partner, Germany’s largest and only Purchasing Association (BME). “The relationship potential of the machinery sector, as in every field, has been distributed so that the doors can be expanded to our exporters in other sectors.” “
We welcome the increasing support for exports with bittersweet joy.”
Karavelioğlu stated that they are pleased with the implementation of new practices under the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce to support exporters, but they equally need the elimination of conditions that encourage imports and said:
“In an environment where difficulties in accessing finance continue in Turkey, as in the rest of the world, we are aware that exporters are being tried to breathe easy with the selective credit policy, and we are pleased with this. However, while we are trying to deal with very serious problems, especially inflation, which increase our production costs and rapidly diminish our competitiveness, we see that the importer does not have any concerns.
In order to protect domestic manufacturers from unfair competition, they declare that they are pursuing efforts to eliminate additional customs duties, which are imposed for countries with problematic business practices, but a significant portion of which remains at a symbolic level. After energy, our biggest foreign trade deficit is from machinery; It is electrical machines and the machinery manufacturing ecosystem with a holistic approach that will close the gap in energy. While this ecosystem is progressing at full speed, we should focus all our attention on protecting and protecting it, as in advanced countries. “If measures cannot be taken to break the import trend of importing 45 billion dollars of machinery in the last 12 months and paying 8 billion dollars for Chinese machines in 8 months, the increasing support for exporters will only create bittersweet joy in our sector.”
