Pınar Ersoy, President of AHK Turkey, said that there are currently about 8 thousand German companies in Turkey.
“Germany’s share in foreign direct investments in Turkey is 6.4 percent. The total of German investments in 2022 was 697 million dollars,” said Ersoy and said:
“Most of these investments are long-term investments that create hundreds of thousands of jobs in Turkey. There are companies operating in Turkey for more than 100 years among our members. German companies include industrial production for many sectors, especially retail and wholesale sales, logistics and distribution. operates in different fields.
Despite the war in Ukraine and the two-year pandemic period, the Turkish economy grew strongly last year and broke new records in exports. Despite all these negative effects and difficulties, last year was another record year in terms of German-Turkish trade relations.”
Reminding that the bilateral foreign trade volume reached a record level of 41 billion dollars in 2021 and exceeded the level of 45 billion dollars in 2022 with a new record, Ersoy said, “Germany continues to be the most important export market for Turkish exporters. “The trade deficit has decreased from 11 billion dollars to 2.8 billion dollars in the last 10 years. In other words, the trade balance between our countries is improving in favor of Turkey.” said.
Reminding that the pandemic has affected international trade, Ersoy stated that the main reason for this is increased freight costs, extended delivery times and disruptions in supply chains.
“Türkiye took the opportunity to position itself as a supply market to Europe”
Ersoy said, “Turkey took the opportunity to position itself as a supply market to Europe. In the light of all these developments, it will not surprise us that the bilateral trade between Germany and Turkey will reach a new record level this year as well.” said.
Stating that the statistical data show that the trade of boiler, machinery and mechanical equipment, as well as the motor vehicles and automotive sub-industry, has a special position in bilateral trade between Turkey in 2022, Ersoy said, “Turkey is now not only an importer of industrial goods and machinery, but also a supplier of such goods. also comes to the fore.” made the statement.
Ersoy continued his words as follows:
“In 2022, industrial products such as boilers, machinery and mechanical equipment had a significant share in Germany’s exports to Turkey with a total value of approximately 5 billion dollars. Other leading export goods are motor vehicles, trailers and their accessories (3.97). billion dollars); plastic and plastic products ($ 1.77 billion); aircraft and spare parts ($ 1.04 billion); chemicals, medical goods and products.
In contrast, Turkey exported $2.96 billion worth of automotive industry products/semi-trailers and trailers and components to Germany. Other leading export items include knitted clothing ($2.77 billion); food ($1.18 billion); industrial products such as boilers, machinery and mechanical equipment ($2.09 billion); electrical machinery ($1 billion) and iron/steel and aluminum products.
Turkey’s special status as a member of the EU Customs Union indicates that Turkey is an important trading partner and investment destination for German companies. With its special geographical location, Turkey forms a natural bridge between the East-West and North-South axes and provides an effective and cost-effective base for important markets in the neighboring region. With a good infrastructure for both energy and logistics, and a young, well-educated and technology-savvy population, Turkey offers attractive opportunities.”
Emphasizing that the green transformation issue and especially the focus areas of energy transformation, renewable energy and green hydrogen have a special importance in the work of AHK Turkey, Ersoy said that besides the activities and exchanges on energy issues, AHK Turkey is in close contact with various stakeholders from the energy sector and the Turkish-German energy sector. He stated that he was working collaboratively.
“We have great potential in renewable energy in the solar field”
Ersoy said, “For example, in 2011, the first AHK Turkey working group was established for member companies from the German-Turkish energy sector. In addition, activities to encourage cooperation with startups working on energy transformation and the private sector are planned.” he said.
Ersoy stated that DEinternational Servis Hizmetleri A.Ş., the solution partner of AHK Turkey, is the head of the Energy Secretariat of the German-Turkish Energy Partnership (DTEP) and supports the coordination of working groups as well as the activities of DTEP.
DTEP, which was established by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection (BMWK) and has been operating since 2012, has created an understanding between politics, business world, science and civil society in the process of transformation (energy transformation) of the energy system in Turkey. Ersoy, who noted that it serves for the exchange of information and information, concluded his words as follows:
“Turkey has a high potential in Renewable Energy compared to Germany, especially in the field of solar energy. German wind energy technology providers are also among the market leaders in terms of installed capacity in Turkey.
Wind turbine manufacturers such as Enercon or Nordex already have large production facilities in Turkey. Although wind energy supply chains are already established in Turkey, they still have a lot of potential for growth and further development.”
