Turkey News June 2023
Business
ZF to make Turkey Europe’s brake chamber production centre
German ZF Group has officially opened its factory established in Arifiye (Sakarya province) to produce brake chambers, and broke ground for its new production building. Having entered the Turkish market in 2019, ZF has invested 40 million Euros in this plant for commercial vehicle solutions. According to Nicolas Bardot, Senior Vice President Operations & Material Management ZF Commercial Vehicles Solutions, his company relies on Turkey’s production power, supplier infrastructure, workforce competence, and product and service quality. He added that with the ongoing investments, Sakarya will become the centre of brake chamber production in Europe. With the additional units planned, ZF aims to create 600 new jobs in its Sakarya plant, and to reach an export volume of 300 million Euros.
May 6, 2023
Bundle Kitchen receives major seed money
In the seed investment tour carried out under the leadership of Nuwa Capital, one of the leading capital funds in the Middle East, with the participation of Kybele Investment, Istanbul-based startup Bundle Kitchen has received an investment of USD 1.25 mn. Founded in 2021, the company aims to become the largest food-tech company in the Middle East in the field of next-generation virtual kitchen concepts. The venture continues its activities with 10 brands, 4 branches and more than 50 sales points.
May 24, 2023
Valvoline enters Turkish market
U.S.-headquartered engine oil producer Valvoline has entered the Turkish market in co-operation with M Oil, the mineral oil brand of Güzel Enerji operating under the umbrella of OYAK Group. Within the scope of the agreement signed between the two companies in Istanbul, M Oil will be the exclusive country distributor of Valvoline brand products, and will also produce them.
May 31, 2023
Politics
Erdoğan re-elected president
The Supreme Election Council has announced the official results of the second round of the presidential election held on 28 May 2023. In the election, where the overall turnout was 84.15 per cent, the incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed 52.18 per cent of the vote, while his challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu received 47.82 per cent. Consequently, Erdoğan has been elected to a third term as president.
June 1, 2023
New cabinet takes office
President Erdoğan has presented his new Presidential Cabinet. Mehmet Şimşek, Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of the Economy from 2015–2018, was assigned the duty of Treasury and Finance Minister, while Hakan Fidan, previously Head of the National Intelligence Organization, has been named Foreign Minister. In his first statement, Şimşek said that Turkey has no other option but to return to a rational economic basis, and from now on macro financial stability will be prioritized. Moreover, Hafize Gaye Erkan has been appointed as the new president of the Central Bank. Erkan, who previously worked in the U.S. as a senior executive in finance, is the first woman holding this position.
June 3 – 9, 2023
Economy
Turkish Central Bank keeps interest rate constant
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has kept its policy rate (the one-week repo auction rate) constant at 8.50%. The bank stated that “the current monetary policy stance is adequate to support the necessary recovery in the aftermath of the earthquake by maintaining price stability and financial stability.”
May 25, 2023
Both exports and imports decrease in April
In April 2023, the exports and imports of the Turkish economy decreased by 17.1% and 4.8%, respectively, compared to the same month of the previous year (YOY). With exports of USD 19.3 bn and imports of USD 28.1 bn, the trade deficit rose by 42.1% to USD 8.7 bn during the same period. In April, Germany remained Turkey’s primary export partner (USD 1.6 bn), leading the USA (USD 1.2 bn) and Iraq (USD 970 mn). Russia continued to be the country accounting for the most imports to Turkey (USD 4.2 bn), ahead of China (USD 3.7 bn) and Germany (USD 2.2 bn).
May 30, 2023
4.0% economic growth in Q1/23
In the first quarter of 2023, Turkey’s GDP increased by 4.0% over the same period of the previous year. The quarterly GDP at current prices was TRY 4,631.8 bn, or USD 245.5 bn in dollar terms. The services sector grew by 12.4%, the construction industry by 5.1%, and the manufacturing industry by 1.6%, whereas agriculture contracted by 3.8%.
May 31, 2023
Inflation continues to decrease
In May 2023, consumer prices in Turkey increased only slightly, by 0.04% over the previous month, while the CPI went up by 39.59% YOY. The highest monthly price hike took place in clothing and footwear (9.85%), followed by hotels, cafés and restaurants (7.10%). The only decrease among the main product groups occurred in housing (-13.79%). The biggest annual price increment was in hotels, cafés and restaurants (68.98%). The domestic producer price index (D-PPI) increased by 0.65% monthly and by 40.76% YOY.
June 5, 2023
Industrial production contracts
In April, Turkey’s industrial production index decreased by 1.2% YOY, with the manufacturing industry stagnant at 0.0%. The biggest increases in the manufacturing industry category occurred in the product groups “other transport equipment” (39.2%), “tobacco products” (28.9%), and “repair and installation of machinery and equipment” (21.3%). The highest decreases were reported in the product groups “coke and refined petroleum products” (-16.8%), “basic metals” (-14.2%), and “paper and paper products” (-13.4%).
June 9, 2023
Seasonally adjusted unemployment announced as 10.2%
In April 2023, some 3,585,000 people in Turkey aged 15 and older were officially out of work. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 10.2% was 0.1 points higher than in the previous month but 0.7 points lower YOY. The labour force participation rate was 53.9% in total, and 36.4% for females.
June 12, 2023
Overview of Monthly Data
Growth Rates
Inflation
