On This Issue

THE CRISIS, OBAMA AND THE FUTURE
TURKOFAMERICA asked Turkish businessmen, who feel this crisis very closely, about their expectations for 2009, the effects of the election of Barack Obama as president, and the precautions taken in their companies.

"TURKISH EXPORTERS SHOULD REDISCOVER THE US"
During the first nine months of the year, even though it did not export as much as it wanted to the US market, Turkey increased its exports to the United Arab Emirates by 209 percent, to Qatar by 203 percent, to Kuwait by 177 percent, to Lebanon by 121 percent, to South Africa by 112.5 percent, to India by 85 percent, and to China by 57.5 percent. Mehmet Büyükekşi, who was elected Chairman of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly last September, answered TURKOFAMERICA’s questions.

TURKEY IS THE LARGEST BUYER OF UNITED STATES WASTE EXPORTS
At the end of 2006, with 1.1 million tons of construction iron, Turkey was the largest supplier to the United States. Turkey transcended the setback in the iron bar market in America by directing itself to the Persian Gulf.

USING TURKISH HAZELNUTS ADDS VALUE PRODUCTS
Currently, Turkey exports about 7000 tons of hazelnuts annually to the US, but it is also noted that, even though North America also produces hazelnuts, the consumption of hazelnuts has not yet reached targeted levels in America.

THE WORLD'S FIRST ABD ONLY STATE SUPPORTED TRADEMARK PROGRAM
By November 2008 the TURQUALITY project, which had set out with the slogan, `10 World Brand Names in 10 Years` reached a total of 61 companies. 

SINAN ALTUN, GLOBAL MARKETING MANAGER OF GLACEAU
Chosen from among 600 candidates worldwide, Sinan Altun was appointed Global Marketing Manager responsible for Glaceau, fruit juices, and centered in the company headquarters in Atlanta.

“TURKISH EXPORTERS SHOULD REDISCOVER THE USA”
The top 15 exporters sold goods amounting to 1.2 trillion to the USA. The remaining 500 billion dollars worth of goods were sold by the remaining countries, including Turkey.

TURKISH JEWELERS’ TARGET
İmam Altınbaş, President of the Istanbul Precious Minerals and Jewelry Exporters’ Association: “If we can succeed in branding as a sector, we aim to capture Italy’s most important advantage. When we succeed in this, our production and export totals will increase much faster than our exports.”

REAL ESTATE SECTOR INVESTMENTS TRIGGER THE CRISIS
Especially now that the prices of real estate are falling, there are great opportunities for those who want to invest, and experts are saying that for those who are looking for long term investments, real estate is one of the best.

WORLD BANK’S DOING BUSINESS PROJECT
According to the World Bank’s “Doing Business Project”, Turkey is ranked 59 out of 181 economies in 2008. Turkey jumped from a ranking of 91 in 2006 to 59 in 2008.