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TIM President Mustafa Gültepe: We Want to Make Turkey One of the Top Ten Exporters in the Long Term

Mustafa Gültepe, President of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), addressed current export developments and 2026 targets at a meeting with the media.

Gültepe stated that they aim to make production and exports the main drivers of economic growth again this year.

Gültepe pointed out that the competitiveness of labor-intensive sectors has weakened over the past 2.5 years due to the "high interest, low exchange rate" policy. He emphasized that if their demands and expectations are met, they could easily exceed the Medium-Term Program (MTP) target of $282 billion projected for 2026.

Gültepe reminded that despite geopolitical risks, the loss of competitiveness in labor-intensive sectors, and increased protectionist measures in global markets, Turkey's exports grew by 4.5% in 2025, reaching $273.4 billion.

"We want to make Turkey one of the top ten exporters in the long term," said Mustafa Gültepe, noting that they estimate service exports to become clear in the coming days, reaching approximately $122 billion. While achieving the highest annual figures in goods and services exports is important, he stressed the need to analyze the situation carefully.

"Employment support should be increased to 6,000 lira, and minimum wage support to 2,500 lira."

Mustafa Gültepe highlighted that although overall exports have not reached the desired level, the contraction in labor-intensive sectors, especially in ready-to-wear exports, has persisted for three years, negatively impacting production and manufacturing employment.

"We organize an average of three trade delegations per month." Mustafa Gültepe explained that they do not place all expectations on the state. As an umbrella organization with over 160,000 members, they carry out intensive delegation programs to explore new markets and connect exporters with new clients. Gültepe stated that they will continue to host procurement delegations in Turkey and plan to organize two large procurement delegations of at least 500 people each this year—one covering Arab countries and the other covering American countries.

Gültepe mentioned that they also place great importance on dialogue with diplomatic representatives working in Turkey. "In this context, we hosted representatives from 13 Arab League member countries in Trabzon last weekend. Our connections in Trabzon show that we have the potential to increase exports to Arab League countries from about $52 billion in 2025 to $65 billion within 2-3 years."