Turkiye managed to end 2022 with the highest export figures ever of $254.2 billion despite global challenges that clouded the trade outlook, the Turkish president announced.
Citing preliminary data, the president said the figure increased by 12.9 percent from the previous year despite global challenges.
“At a time when the world is struggling with serious political and economic problems, it hasn’t been easy to continue uninterrupted investments, increase employment and increase exports,” he said. “This shows that Turkey is no longer a country that is crushed by crises, but a country that manages crises.”
President Erdogan highlighted that Türkiye’s exports in Turkish liras touched approximately 350 billion Turkish liras ($19 billion) in 2022.
“The number of countries and regions to which we export with our national currency has reached 197,” added the president.
Erdogan said exports to the European Union increased by 12% in 2022, while some 10,000 companies completed their first exports in the same period.
Over the past year, Turkey walked through the void generated by western sanctions and traded more with Russia. In December alone, Turkish exports to Russia more than doubled to $1.31 billion, according to the trade ministry.
Turkey, since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, had refused to join sanctions against Russia, arguing that a balanced approach can aid in mediating between Kyiv and Moscow.
“Our goal is to ensure that Türkiye takes its place among the top 10 exporting countries in the world,” Erdogan said.