Turkey to exceed 2017 export target: Economy minister

Turkey is expected to exceed its revised export target of $156.5 billion by the end of the current year, Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Wednesday.

"We also aim to exceed $157.6 billion of export, which is a historic high," Zeybekci told the Turkish Export Week event at Istanbul Congress Center.

He reminded that Turkey reached $128.7 billion in exports in the first 9 months of the year.

"We had set a target of $153.3 billion in exports and exceeded this figure in 12 months basis as of September," he added.

Turkey’s export target was raised to $156.5 billion under the Medium-Term Economic Program by year's end, up from the first target of $153.3 billion.

Zeybekci underlined that they held meetings with the sector representatives and fulfilled the demands of business people from all sectors including iron/steel, automotive, textile, agriculture and chemistry.

He said the government has increased its support to the exports despite challenging global economic conditions.

Zeybekci also marked that they increased the capital of Eximbank to 10 billion Turkish liras ($2.6 billion), up from 3.7 billion Turkish liras ($965 million).

Turk Eximbank is a fully state-owned bank acting as the Turkish government’s major exports incentive instrument in the country’s exports strategy.

- E-commerce

Turkish Eximbank will be able to finance 30 percent of the country's exports by 2018, increasing from 26 percent, Zeybekci highlighted.

Recalling developments in electronic trade, the minister said they encouraged 10,000 exporters to join e-commerce websites.

"We have to change the structure of our exports. We support high-tech exports directly in cash," Zeybekci underlined.

Zeybekci underlined that the share of high-tech products in exports of manufacturing industrial goods reached 3.8 percent this year, from 3.4 percent last year.

"This figure, which is extremely low for us, should reach 15-20 percent as soon as possible," he added.

Mehmet Buyukeksi, chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), also said that Turkish exporters aim to reach $500 billion and to get a share of 1.5 percent in world trade by 2023.

Buyukeksi noted that they aim to increase the number of exporters -- currently over 67,000 to 100,000 by 2023.

Commenting on the demands of Turkish exporters, Buyukeksi said that the exporters are waiting for an update of the current Customs Union Agreement with EU.

"We desire to strengthen relations with the EU, which represents 70 percent of foreign investments in Turkey, and open new chapters [in EU accession process]," he explained.