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ISTANBUL: There is a silver lining to Turkey’s currency crisis and the global supply chain crunch: The country is becoming an attractive alternative at the gates of Europe for foreign firms.
Turkey is seizing on its geographic advantage to woo companies as the skyrocketing cost of sea freight and pandemic-related disruptions to supply chains push some European companies to reduce their dependence on Asia.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose policies have contributed to the lira’s plunge, has promoted a new slogan for exports: “Made in Turkiye”, using the country’s language instead of the internationally-known “Made in Turkey”.
But his vision must overcome concerns about Ankara’s complicated relationship with the European Union, the independence of the judiciary and political uncertainty ahead of elections next year.
Nevertheless, Turkey’s exports reached a record $225.4 billion last year, with a target of $300 billion in 2023.
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He said the country offers automakers or textile companies a “competitive talent pool, sophisticated industrial competencies, well-developed services industries, perfect geographic location and state-of-the-art logistic infrastructure.”
Ikea announced last year it wanted to move part of its production to Turkey.
Peter Wolters, vice chairman of the Netherlands-Turkey Chamber of Commerce, said the business group received “requests from the household and garden sector, textile and fashion and also yacht building industry who search for new partners in Turkey”.
