TUIK, announced the growth data on the last day of February. Our economy grew by 4.5 percent in 2023 and by 4 percent in the last quarter of the year.

These figures were more or less within the framework of our estimates. The new and nice thing was that the size of the GDP exceeded 1 trillion dollars for the first time in history, and the per capita national income reached 13 thousand 110 dollars.

When we looked at the growth figures from our own perspective, we saw a limited increase in our industrial production despite a strong consumption effect. In 2023, which Turkey closed with a growth of 4.5 percent, our industry grew by only 1.6 percent. While the industrial sector grew by 0.8 percent using the production method, its contribution to growth was 0.16 percent. Thus, the industrial sector made a weaker contribution to Turkey’s growth than the construction and services sectors.

I have remembered the issues that I had mentioned in all my speeches, that I had put on paper in my writings, that the representatives of Turkey’s giant industrial sector had constantly emphasized from all over our country, and that were causing problems for us one by one:

– We are dealing with high energy costs. The price of electricity used by industrialists has increased three times the price of electricity used by residences. Energy costs of companies should be reduced.

– Consecutive increases in the minimum wage have brought the lowest employer cost closer to the level of 800 dollars.

– On the other hand, the mid-level and qualified personnel shortage never ends.

– The exchange rate, which is emphasized to be free, does not contribute to our exporters as it is constantly suppressed and remains low.

– Comprehensive policies have not been produced to reduce intermediate goods and input costs, which has been an important problem for companies, especially recently.

– We continue to have problems accessing cheap financing due to high loan interest rates.

– The incentives and supports implemented by the Ministry of Commerce for exporters need to be updated.

In addition to all this, the stagnation and weak demand in global export markets have not ended. Our exporters’ search for new markets continues non-stop.

I would like to briefly quote the concise words of my friend Erdal Bahçıvan, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, parallel to my words:

“There is a period ahead of us that requires patience and sacrifice. Only if everyone shows this patience and sacrifice, we can manage to get the economy back on track. If sacrifice is expected only from those who represent the real economy, us industrialists and exporters, this will be both unfair and cause much more problems in production life. I would especially like to express that the public should pay more attention to the voices rising from the world of production.”

I must emphasize once again that the basis of the economy is industry. This foundation has been laid very firmly throughout the country, and it is rising even more widely. Some difficult periods occur frequently in business life as well as in human life. While the Economy Management, which wants to overcome the difficulties, continues a success-oriented major program in discipline, we will quickly overcome the obstacles and achieve our goals as we are accustomed to.

I wish love, respect, happiness, abundance and health to my dear industrialist friends, with whom we progress shoulder to shoulder in the business world.

Eyüp SÖZDİNLER
COIZ Chairman of the Board