TİM Holds 26th Ordinary General Assembly and 2018 Export Champions Ceremony

TIM Held Its 26th Ordinary General Assembly and 2018 Export Champions Awards Ceremony

The Turkish Exporters Council (TIM), the umbrella organization of 61 exporter associations, 13 general secretariats and nearly 85,000 exporters, held its 26th Ordinary General Assembly and 2018 Export Champions Awards Ceremony in Istanbul under the hosting of TIM Chairman İsmail Gülle, with the participation of President Erdoğan. The General Assembly was attended by Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, Family, Labor and Social Services Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Mehmet Cahit Turhan, members of TIM Sector Councils, heads of exporter associations, representatives of public, private sector and civil society organizations, and company executives. Awards were presented to Turkey's top 10 exporting companies in 2018 by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The top 10 companies that achieved the highest exports and received awards last year were, respectively: Ford Otomotiv Sanayi, Toyota Otomotiv Sanayi, Tofaş Türk Otomobil, Kibar Dış Ticaret, TGS Dış Ticaret, Tüpraş, Vestel Ticaret, Arçelik, Oyak-Renault Otomobil, Habaş Sınai ve Tıbbi Gazlar. At the ceremony, companies with the highest exports from 27 different exporter sectors were also recognized with awards.

TIM Chairman İsmail Gülle stated: "Our President's approval of our request for exemption from the 0.1 percent exchange tax on bank foreign currency sales, which our 85,000 exporters have been awaiting for a month, and the good news provided have made our entire exporter family and us very happy.

As always, our President demonstrated today that he stands with exporters and opens the way for us. We express our gratitude to him." President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at TIM's 26th Ordinary General Assembly and 2018 Export Champions Awards Ceremony, said: "We are very close to transforming Turkey from a current account deficit country to a current account surplus country. We trust you, you trust us too. We have implemented major reforms in every field to support our exporters. We allocated 2 billion TRY last year and 3.1 billion TRY this year to support our exporters. We increased the capital of Turkish Eximbank from 3 billion TRY to 10 billion TRY. Last year we provided 44.2 billion USD in financing support to the sector. This way we financed 26 percent of our total exports. Now I want to give you more good news.

Through a decree I signed today, which will be published in the Official Gazette tomorrow, we are introducing an exemption for foreign currency sales to industrial registry certificate holders and exporter associations. From now on, our exporters will not pay the 0.1 percent exchange tax when buying foreign currency. We are preventing the measures we took against foreign currency speculation from affecting exporters." he said.

TIM Chairman İsmail Gülle stated in his address: "Our top 1,000 exporters research that we announced today and which our exporter family eagerly awaits each year shows that our companies in the top 1,000 increased their export volumes by 11 percent year-on-year in 2018, more than 1.5 times the growth in global trade, reaching USD 102.8 billion. 155 of our companies that were not on the list last year earned the right to enter the top 1,000 list in 2018 through their export performance. In the 2018 research, our companies from 50 different provinces demonstrated success in entering the list, marking the spread of exports across Turkey. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the contribution of net exports to growth reached the highest figure of 8.4 points. In the first quarter of 2019, we managed to raise this figure to 9.4 points, consolidating Turkey's economic growth through exports. Our Turkey is growing with its exports, which are the pride of our country on the world stage, and will continue to grow through exports." he said.

Gülle: "As field soldiers of Turkey's trade diplomacy, exporters, in light of current global developments, we can say this: We are moving from an export approach based on 'quality but cheap' products to a new process based on knowledge competition by rewriting our vision and mission. From now on, our vision is 'Turkey in Knowledge Competition.' Knowledge competition does not mean abandoning production, but rather restructuring to ensure higher value-added production. And knowledge competition ultimately means 'Turkey with a Foreign Trade Surplus.' Esteemed Mr. President; We made you a promise: 'Turkey with a Foreign Trade Surplus.' For this, high value-added, branding, design, R&D, innovation and all that contemporary civilization requires, we are working with all our might to implement comprehensively. We have focused on a production ecosystem that has prioritized digital transformation and renewed itself with support mechanisms crowned with second and third generation reforms. While we express our gratitude once more for the support our government has provided so far for production, investment and employment, it is clear as day, as our esteemed President has emphasized in every speech, that digital and technological transformation also needs new generation government support. Of course, while presenting these wishes and suggestions to our government, we are aware that we also need to convert this support into high value-added exports. If we say 'Turkey in Knowledge Competition,' we must do justice to it. Our sectors must start working immediately on technological renewals, digital infrastructures and new structures that will enable fast and effective decision-making in line with our 'New Export Master Plan.'" he said.

Maintained Its Top Three Position This Year As Well

According to the research results, Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.Ş. became Turkey's leading company with USD 5.683 billion in exports, while Toyota Otomotiv Sanayi Türkiye A.Ş. ranked second with USD 4.598 billion, and Tofaş Türk Otomobil Fabrikaları A.Ş. ranked third with USD 2.998 billion. Kibar Dış Ticaret A.Ş., which was in 6th place the previous year, rose to 4th place with USD 2.720 billion in exports, while TGS Dış Ticaret A.Ş., which was in 12th place the previous year, jumped seven positions to rise to 5th place with USD 2.591 billion. Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri A.Ş. took 6th place with USD 2.467 billion in exports. Vestel Ticaret A.Ş. maintained 7th place with USD 2.255 billion, Arçelik A.Ş. maintained 8th place with USD 1.937 billion, while Oyak-Renault Otomobil Fabrikaları A.Ş. achieved 9th place with USD 1.784 billion. Habaş Sınai ve Tıbbi Gazlar İstihsal Endüstrisi A.Ş. took 10th place with USD 1.544 billion, rising one position compared to the previous year.

According to the research results, in sectoral evaluation, the ready-made clothing and apparel sector ranked first with 154 companies, chemical substances and products ranked second with 106 companies, and the automotive sector ranked third with 102 companies.

The fact that exporting companies in the top 1,000 operate in 50 different provinces from Istanbul to Şırnak and from Samsun to Osmaniye was the biggest indicator of exports spreading across Turkey. While 440 companies were based in Istanbul, Izmir followed with 76 companies and Kocaeli with 67 companies. In regional distribution, 600 companies from the Marmara Region, 146 from the Aegean Region and 83 from Central Anatolia entered the list, while it was noteworthy that there were companies from all 7 geographical regions that earned the right to enter the top 1,000 list. The average number of employees of the top 1,000 companies was 781 in 2018, indicating that these companies alone provided employment to nearly 800,000 people. The same figure was 704 in 2016, meaning the most successful exporters also shouldered employment, providing livelihood for nearly 100,000 workers in just two years. Moreover, the top 1,000 companies advanced Turkey in export unit prices. While Turkey's export price per kilogram was USD 1.33 in 2018, this figure was USD 1.37 for our top 1,000 companies, USD 1.40 for the top 500, and finally USD 2.76 for our top 10 companies. .