British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey (BCCT) Commercial Manager Emrah Öz said yesterday that trade between Turkey and the United Kingdom has increased by 15 percent in the last three years.
Öz said with the contribution of the positive statement of political and commercial relations between the U.K. and Turkey, trade agreements have shown continuity in the last 15-20 years.
He noted that trade between Turkey and the United Kingdom has increased by 15 percent in the last three years. “We encourage small or medium-sized businesses to increase the trade traffic between the two countries,” he continued. “In commercial size, Turkey and the U.K.’s bilateral exports are showing an increase with the development of quality projects. The value of the projects is increasing in line with the importance given to the quality.”
Öz indicated that the number of quality projects in Turkey has increased, stressing that Britain has always been a quality market and that quality is at the forefront in this market instead of quantity.
He stressed that they are in contact with small and medium enterprises. “Big projects are progressing in some way. Small and medium sized enterprises are the capillary vessels that revive arteries, and they need to be kept alive,” Öz said, recalling that last year, they enabled British companies to realize 8-9 million pounds of exports to Turkey. “Many of these small and medium-sized firms had not previously stepped in to the Turkish the market. Although the amount was not very high, it was a way of opening a door. Today, a company sells maybe 300,000 pounds of goods, but tomorrow it can sell 1.5 million pounds,” he added.
Highlighting that there are some companies that increased their exports to Turkey from 20-30,000 pounds to 6 million pounds, which is a significant increase in itself, Öz said Turkey also draws attention with its unknown aspects in addition to its known aspects. “When firms enter the Turkish market, they see that life is professionally progressing despite the political, economic and sociological dynamics. It is not difficult to do business with Turks when integrated into this structure,” he noted. Suggesting that Turkey may have a market structure that has not been experienced or tested before and that fluctuations and accelerations in the market may develop upwards and downwards, he stressed that those who manage to survive in this vibrant period in Turkey are capable of capturing the greatest successes in the Turkish market in quiet times.
“In high-quality production, Turkey has a line, recognized far beyond Far Eastern production lines,” Öz concluded.
Bilateral trade volume with the United Kingdom reached $16.2 billion in 2017 and that this year bilateral trade grew by 39 percent in January-March alone, reaching $5 billion.
The two countries aim to reach $20 billion in bilateral trade volume. The United Kingdom has been among the countries with the most investments in Turkey by investing close to $10 billion directly in the country in the last 15 years.
s/sabah
