Export to Syria from Southeastern Anatolia in January increased by 34 percent compared to last year, reaching $67,574,000. Following the end of the 61-year Baath regime in Syria and the overthrow of Assad, Turkish companies began the new year with a swift export to this country. According to data compiled from the Southeastern Anatolia Exporters’ Associations (GAİB), while $50,458,000 worth of exports were made to Syria in January last year, $67,574,000 worth of foreign sales were realized in the first month of the new year. With normalization in Syria, exports to this country increased by 34 percent in the first month of the new year compared to the same period of the previous year.

“SURİYE MARKET WILL SERVE AS A BRIDGE”

Ahmet Fikret Kileci, Coordinator President of the Southeastern Anatolia Exporters’ Associations (GAİB), said that commercial relations with Syria should be developed through strategic and long-term projects rather than based solely on short-term gains. Kileci stated that the Syrian market could serve as a bridge not only with this country but also to deeper points in the Middle East and even towards Africa. He added: “Syria has emerged from a long war process and is trying to recover. As Turkey, we have always supported this country’s efforts to establish a new order, and we will continue to support. There may have been some initial mistakes, but we see that many wrongs have been corrected. Serious regulations have been made especially regarding high taxes on basic food products. We believe that with correct actions and planning, as bilateral relations increase, our exports to Syria will grow exponentially.”

Kileci expressed that initially presenting everything to this market at once is not a wise strategy, emphasizing that exporters should now act with a rational and conscious trade understanding rather than being opportunity-focused.

EXPECTATION OF DOUBLING CEREAL EXPORTS

Celal Kadooğlu, President of the Association of Cereal Pulse Oil Seeds and Products Exporters of GAİB, said that one of the sectors that will increase exports to Syria the most is cereals and pulses. Kadooğlu stated that there is an annual export volume of 350 million dollars to Syria in the cereals and pulses sector, saying, “In my opinion, we are in a position to increase this figure to $500-600 million in the near future.”