Representatives of the business world expressed satisfaction with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) results for the year 2023 announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).
The Turkish economy grew by 4.5% last year and continued with a 4% growth in the final quarter of 2023. Turkey, in the final quarter of 2023, became the second among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the third among G20 countries in terms of annual economic growth.
Nail Olpak, President of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), commented on the GDP results, stating, “As the business world, we welcome the growth of 4.0% in the last quarter, exceeding the 4.4% projected in the Medium-Term Program for the whole year, reaching 4.5%.”
Olpak emphasized that 2023 was a challenging year in many respects, citing geopolitical developments affecting the global economy, the negative effects of low global growth rates, and China’s inability to grow in the domestic market due to economic problems.
Highlighting the surpassing of the target growth rate for 2023 and the maintenance of growth stability as valuable achievements, Olpak stated, “When evaluated sectorally, we see that every sector, except for a slight contraction in the agricultural sector, positively contributed to growth. We should also carefully interpret the 0.8% increase in growth in the industry because the momentum in our industry is directly affected by the increase in our exports.”
Olpak added:
“When we evaluate the results annually, we see that our exports, especially in the first half of 2023, contributed negatively to growth due to developments in the global economy. Although there was a recovery in the second half of the year, it remained the only item contributing negatively to growth throughout the year. As we start 2024, combating global challenges domestically and continuing policies focused on ensuring financial stability, increasing investment, production, and exports is crucial. Especially in an environment where global growth is slow, we believe that the growth of our exports should take a more prominent role in the industry sector during this period.”
TİM President Gültepe: Investments Transform Turkey into Production and Export
Mustafa Gültepe, President of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM), also emphasized the significance of the stability in growth, stating, “As the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, our biggest goal is for our country to be among the top 10 countries in global exports. We need to carefully examine the growth figures for 2023. A significant part of the growth comes from machinery and equipment investments. We consider these investments as a harbinger of more production and more exports in the near future. On the other hand, there is a slight decline in the contribution of exports to growth. This situation indicates a contraction in external demand and a loss of competitiveness.”
Commenting on these two figures together, Gültepe expressed, “We see that the high investment appetite in the industry is influenced by the strong wind we gained in competitiveness in previous years. In 2024, significant increases in global demand are expected. As the export family, we will continue to be the dynamo of production, investment, and employment in our country.”
MÜSİAD President Asmalı: Growth Rates will be a Great Motivation for 2024
Mahmut Asmalı, President of the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), highlighted that achieving positive growth for 14 consecutive quarters indicates a promising start for the “Turkish Century.” Despite the challenges, such as the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, referred to as the disaster of the century, and the uncertainty brought by two major election processes in May, the economic performance shown by Turkey is commendable, according to Asmalı.
Asmalı mentioned, “As we read these two figures together, we see that the industrialist’s investment appetite is high, but the decline in competitiveness negatively affects exports. In the increase of these investments, there is an impact of the strong wind we gained in competitiveness in previous years. In 2024, significant increases are expected in global demand. As the export family, we will continue to be the dynamo of production, investment, and employment in our country.”
ASO President Ardıç: Focus on Industrial Production for Sustainable Growth
Seyit Ardıç, President of the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO), underlined the importance of giving great importance to industrial production for the country to achieve its stable and sustainable development goals. He stated, “Supporting the industrial sector will increase the potential GDP growth rate in the medium and long term, supporting general efficiency and increasing productivity and employment in the economy. The most important issue in macroeconomics for 2024 will continue to be inflation. We find it correct to continue the determined struggle against inflation. Low inflation is the most important prerequisite for sustainable growth.”
source: aa.com.tr/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç