Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech, TOBB Board Member Selçuk Öztürk stated that they ensure honest trade and reliability in the digital economy with the trust seal application in the field of e-commerce, saying, “Our companies establish technical infrastructure in accordance with the legislation, conduct regular penetration tests, and protect customer data.”

Öztürk said in his speech at the summit, which was also attended by Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, that they had experienced a significant leap in e-exports thanks to the support measures implemented by the Ministry of Trade and visionary steps focused on digitalization.

Pointing out that digital access, data usage, brand positioning, and global visibility are at the heart of trade, Öztürk said that when a product meets the right strategy and digital showcase, it gains value and finds buyers on a global scale.

- “We must focus on medium and high-tech products.”

Öztürk pointed out that as e-Export grows, global competition is also intensifying, stating that they are keenly aware of the pressure created in world markets by low-priced products, particularly those originating in the Far East.

Öztürk stated that in this context, the public sector, private sector, and civil society have united around a vision of fair competition, strong production, and sustainable exports, saying, “Our goals are also common: more markets, higher added value, faster transactions, and stronger financing. We need to raise the bar in our product mix and focus on medium and high-tech products.”

Emphasizing that exports to the European Union (EU) continue to be strong, Öztürk said they also support the EU’s efforts to strengthen market surveillance in e-commerce.

Öztürk pointed out that Türkiye is a country with high technical regulatory compliance within the Customs Union with the EU, noting that it is disproportionate for Turkish-origin shipments to be subject to the same treatment as those from third countries.

- “A strategic gain that enhances our brand’s reputation”

Öztürk stated that they believe the customs exemption threshold and technical facilities with the US, as well as the bilateral trade agreement process with the UK, will progress in a way that paves the way for exporters. He added that TOBB has successfully operated a trade center opened in Chicago to facilitate companies’ entry into the US market.

Öztürk shared that they are planning to replicate this model in other US cities, adding, “One of our key priorities is nearby markets and distant countries. We are working on market share in the top 20 target countries for the 2025-2026 period. We want to increase and deepen trade with our neighbors, particularly Iraq and Syria.”

Emphasizing that they are shaping and supporting the transformation and bringing SMEs in 81 provinces together with e-export processes, Öztürk noted:

“We have brought our women entrepreneurs to digital markets and prepared our young people for the ecosystem. We have opened our geographically marked products to the world. With the trust seal application we carry out in the field of e-commerce with the authorization of our Ministry, we have ensured honest trade and reliability in the digital economy. Our companies establish technical infrastructure in accordance with the legislation, conduct regular penetration tests, and protect customer data. This is a strategic gain that increases the reputation of our brand in the international market.”

- Trade Minister Ömer Bolat

Trade Minister Ömer Bolat also said in his speech here that they managed to maintain reasonable figures in the current account deficit, that they expect a current account surplus of $1 billion in September and half a billion dollars in October, and that they will thus achieve a current account surplus for four months in a row.

Bolat reported that while the target for goods and services exports was $390 billion, they reached $391.5 billion. Bolat stated that e-commerce accelerated, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that e-commerce’s share of total trade reached 20% last year, compared to 4.5% in 2019.

- “We also support companies in e-export.”

Stating that the compound annual growth rate of the overall e-commerce volume between the pre-pandemic period and 2024 is 86 percent, Bolat said, “This is a very high figure. The e-commerce volume in our country exceeded 3 trillion liras in 2024.”

Bolat said that Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, and Antalya were the top five provinces in terms of e-commerce volume, with the food, clothing, footwear, accessories, and electronics sectors leading the way.

Bolat pointed out that the number of e-exporters, which was approximately 7,000 in 2023, increased by 62 percent last year to 11,283. He stated that Türkiye’s top five countries for e-exports this year are the US, Germany, Azerbaijan, Romania, and Poland, and that there is also intensive e-export to the Gulf countries.

Bolat said that while carrying out the necessary inspections and regulations for the e-commerce sector, they are supporting companies in the field of e-exports.

Bolat stated that the regulation published in the Official Gazette today allows for consignment exports to be made with a simplified customs declaration, saying, “This is a very important opportunity in terms of facilitating e-exports.”

- E-export’s share of total exports is rapidly increasing

Mehmet Şanal, President of the Central Anatolia Exporters’ Associations (OAİB), also said that they attach great importance to e-export and that e-commerce across Türkiye reached a volume of approximately $90 million last year. 

Şanal noted that there was a 15% increase compared to the previous year and a 2.7-fold increase compared to 2019.

Şanal stated that e-export creates opportunities to develop products and offer them to many countries around the world, saying, “Türkiye’s e-exports increased by 27 percent in 2024, reaching $6.4 billion from $5 billion, accounting for 2.6 percent of our total exports. In the next 10-year period, this rate will definitely exceed 10 percent.”

- “We aim to place Türkiye among the top 10 countries with the highest exports”

TİM President Mustafa Gültepe also stated that they aim to place Türkiye among the top 10 countries with the highest exports.

Gültepe said that in this regard, they must leverage the effects of technology, R&D, innovation, design, and branding, adding, “We need to increase the share of our value-added exports and increase our product and market diversity. Although there are different data on global e-exports, there is talk of a volume of approximately $1.5 trillion for 2024. This is a tremendous amount.”

Gültepe said that last year, 6.5 billion dollars of total exports were realized through e-exports, and that during this period, the share of e-exports in footwear reached 25 percent.

Gültepe stated that while a 25% share in overall exports may not be discussed in the medium term, they could easily increase the share of e-exports to at least 10% by 2030. noted that under the protocol signed with Asset Worldwide Express during the summit, exporters will be able to access the global market quickly and at a reasonable cost, and ship their products to a wide geography, primarily Europe, America, and the Middle East, at discounted prices.

- A new era in e-export financing in the Turkish century

The session titled “A New Era in E-Export Financing in the Turkish Century” held during the summit discussed the support provided to exporters. In his speech at this session, Ali Güney, General Manager of Türk Eximbank, stated that e-export methods continue to grow rapidly, saying, “In the last two years, we have provided nearly $1 billion in support to our companies exporting through e-export.”

- “We attach importance to spreading the support to the base.”

In his speech, Turkish Eximbank General Manager Güney said that as an institution, they provided $49 billion in support to exporting companies last year.

Güney said that $24.3 billion of this amount was in loans and $24.7 billion was in credit insurance, adding, “As of the end of October this year, the amount realized is $44.5 billion. Our target for the end of the year is $53 billion, and if this trend continues, we expect to achieve our target.”

- Three protocols were signed during the summit

At the summit, the Ministry of Trade, Türk Eximbank, and İGE AŞ signed the “e-Export Financing Cooperation Protocol”; the Export Academy, TOBB, and TOBB University of Economics and Technology signed the “Export Academy Education Cooperation Protocol”; and TİM and Asset Worldwide Express signed the “TİM Logistics e-Export Financing Cooperation Protocol.”