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Investment of German companies in Turkiye since 2002 is approximately $11.5 billion

Pinar Ersoy, President of the German-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “The investment of German companies in Turkiye since 2002 is approximately $11.5 billion.”

Pinar Ersoy, President of AHK Turkiye, said that there are currently about 8 thousand German companies in Turkiye.

Ersoy said the following: “Germany’s share in foreign direct investments in Turkiye is 6.4%. The total of German investments in 2022 was $697 million,”

“Most of these investments are long-term investments that create hundreds of thousands of jobs in Turkiye. Our members include companies operating in Turkiye for over 100 years. German companies operate in different fields, from industrial production for many sectors, to retail and wholesale, logistics and distribution. 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 in 2021 and exceeded the level of $45 billion in 2022 with a new record, Ersoy said, “Germany continues to be the most important export market for Turkish exporters.

The foreign trade deficit between Turkiye and Germany has decreased from $11 billion to $2.8 billion in the last 10 years. In other words, the trade balance between our countries is improving in favor of Turkiye.

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.

“Turkiye took the opportunity to position itself as a supply market to Europe”

Ersoy said, “Turkiye 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 Turkiye will reach a new record level this year as well.”

Ersoy stated that the statistical data show that in 2022, besides the motor vehicles and automotive sub-industry, the trade of boilers, machinery and mechanical equipment has a special position in bilateral trade between Turkiye. “Turkiye now stands out not only as an importer of industrial goods and machinery, but also as a supplier of such goods.”

Ersoy continued his words as follows:

“In 2022, industrial products such as boilers, machines and mechanical equipment had a significant share in Germany’s exports to Turkiye, with a total value of approximately $5 billion. Other leading exports are motor vehicles, trailers and their accessories, respectively ($3.97 billion); plastics and plastic products ($1.77 billion); aircraft and spare parts ($1.04 billion); chemicals, medical goods and products.

In contrast, Turkiye 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.

Turkiye’s special status as a member of the EU Customs Union indicates that Turkiye is an important trading partner and investment destination for German companies. With its special geographical location, Turkiye 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, Turkiye offers attractive opportunities.”

Emphasizing that the green transformation issue, and especially the focus areas of energy transformation, renewable energy and green hydrogen, has a special importance in the work of AHK Turkiye, Ersoy said, “In addition to activities and exchanges on energy issues, AHK Turkiye stated that it works in close cooperation with various stakeholders from the energy sector and the Turkish-German energy sector.”

“We have great potential in renewable energy in the solar field”

Ersoy said, “For example, in 2011, the first AHK Turkiye 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.”

Ersoy stated that DEinternational Shuttle Services Inc., the solution partner of AHK Turkiye, 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.

Noting that DTEP, which has been operating since 2012 established by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection (BMWK), serves for the exchange of ideas and information between politics, business world, science and civil society during the transformation (energy transformation) of the energy system in Turkiye, Ersoy concluded his words as follows:

“Turkiye 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 Turkiye.

Wind turbine manufacturers such as Enercon or Nordex already have large production facilities in Turkiye. Although wind energy supply chains are already established in Turkiye, they still have a lot of potential for growth and further development.”

Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz

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