"2023 Export Leaders Award Ceremony" of the Electrical and Electronics Exporters Association was held with the participation of Deputy Minister of Trade Özgür Volkan Ağar, Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) President Mustafa Gültepe, Electrical and Electronics Exporters Association (TET) President Dr Güven Uçkan and many guests. In the organization where the top exporting companies received their awards as a result of the evaluation made based on their export performance in 2023, awards were also presented to the finalists of the TET Project Market event, which was organized to contribute to the goal of realizing high value-added ideas and increasing the share of high-tech products in exports, and in which 9 projects were commercialized in the last two years.

Emphasis on R&D and branding

Noting that the export level reached by Turkey is the result of the transformation of industry and exports that increases added value and provides technological development over the years, Özgür Volkan Ağar said, “As of 2023, our medium-high and high-tech product exports increased by 9.7 percent compared to 2022, reaching 97.2 billion dollars. The share of our medium-high and high-technology product exports in our total manufacturing industry exports increased from 36.9 percent to 40.3 percent. We must say that our electrical and electronics industry played a critical role in this success.” Noting that Turkey is a leading global producer and exporter in many sectors, Ağar said, “Our electrical-electronics sector is a source of pride for our country in many markets, especially the European market. The Electrical-Electronics sector is one of the strategic sectors in our country, as well as around the world, that closely affects other industrial branches with its economic and technological features. The fact that it realized 7.3 percent of the country's exports also shows the importance of the sector. Sector exports grew by approximately 7 percent compared to the previous year and reached 16.2 billion dollars in 2023. He added: “I believe that, within the scope of our 2024 export target, it is of great importance to give importance to innovation and R&D activities, branding and focus on technology for the electrical and electronics sector.”

The target for exports is 17.5 billion dollars

Stating that the future face of Turkey's exports is the electrical-electronics sector, Mustafa Gültepe noted that the electrical-electronics sector has pioneered technological advances in the world in the last 50 years. Emphasizing that electrical and electronic products are an extremely important export item for Turkey, Mustafa Gültepe said, “Last year, nearly 24 thousand companies in our country exported electrical and electronic products. Almost one in five exporting companies includes electrical and electronics among their products. Of course, this data reflects positively on our exports. In 2023, when global trade contracted by approximately 2 trillion dollars, our sectoral exports increased by 7 percent, reaching over 16 billion dollars. This year, our industry has an export target of 17.5 billion dollars. I believe that we will complete the year above this target. He said: "The more we apply R&D and innovation to our products, the more we attach importance to design, and the more we can create brands on a global scale, the more our export income will increase."

5-year support period is insufficient

Stating that while the unit price per kilogram in Turkey's industrial sector in general in 2023 is 1.9 dollars, the average of the electrical and electronics sector is 6.1 dollars, Dr Güven Uçkan said, “In addition, the unit price in the high-tech TV Receivers (LCD) product group, which is in the electronics category was around 19.3 dollars.” Underlining that two methods stand out to increase quality exports, Dr Güven Uçkan said, “The first is to increase the structure of exports in favor of high-tech products, and the second is to increase brand awareness in sectors with branded sales character. On the first issue, we believe that we will achieve positive results in the medium term through the regulations made in our investment incentive legislation. Thanks to the Turquality program we have been implementing in branding, certain successes have been achieved. However, there is still something that can be done. In EU countries, our main market, 5 years of support is insufficient to establish the brand. This process is not sufficient today, when technology and sales and marketing methods change very rapidly. In addition, the European Union is constantly opening its market to newly developing countries. This constantly encourages competition in the market while threatening our gains. "For this reason, when the 5-year period ends in EU countries, it would be appropriate to provide support to the same country for another 5 years after a 3-year break."

We congratulate our BEYSAD member companies that made the list for their success.

41. SARKUYSAN ELEKTROLİTİK BAKIR SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.
51. E.G.O. ELEKTRİKLİ ALETLER SAN. A.Ş
63. DE-KA ELEKTROTEKNİK SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.
92. ARMA FİLTRE SİSTEMLERİ SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.
110. ŞAHTERM ELEKTRİKLİ ISITICILAR SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.
113. KABEL KABLO ELEMANLARI SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.
127. KAREL ELEKTRONİK SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.
130. BAŞOĞLU KABLO VE PROFİL SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.
131. HATKO TEKNİK DONANIMLAR MÜMESSİLLİK VE TİC. A.Ş.
154. FESTO SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.