Machine Manufacturers’ Association (MIB) President Ahmet Özkayan said that the support given to the domestic and national machinery manufacturing industry, which has been declared a strategic sector, will turn into production, that is, investments with a return.
Pointing out that the unit weight value in machinery exports is well above the average of Turkey, Ahmet Özkayan explained that Turkey needs to produce high value-added products in order to get out of the middle income trap, and that the support given to the sector is important at this point.
Ahmet Özkayan, who emphasized the importance of evaluating the machinery manufacturing sector from a different perspective as it supports all manufacturing sectors with its high added value, said, “In this sense, the support to be given will turn into production, that is, investments with return, and our machine manufacturers will be the first in R&D, design, production and transition to high technology. It will continue to be one of the most strategic elements in our country with its qualified workforce, technical equipment and infrastructure.”
“The way out of the middle income trap is value-added products”
MİB President Özkayan stated that the unit weight value in machinery exports was 6.2 dollars/kg in the 11 months of this year, while the Turkey average was 1.5 dollars. Pointing out that this figure should be emphasized, Özkayan said, “Unless we produce products with high added value, it will not be possible to get out of the middle income trap.”
Evaluating the export data of the industry, Ahmet Özkayan stated that the industry ranks 30th in the world with a share of 14 billion dollars and a share of 0.7 percent in 2017, and an export of 18 billion dollars is targeted in 2018. The machinery manufacturing sector ranks 23rd in the world with a share of 27.2 billion dollars and a share of 1.3 percent in imports.
Ahmet Özkayan said, “It is seen that the share we receive from the world machinery trade of 2 trillion dollars is actually very low and the sector has the potential to realize a serious foreign currency inflow when it is supported”.
Pointing out that the quality and durability of the machine is more important than the price in developed countries, Özkayan said, “While 40 percent of 10 thousand dollars per person in developed countries comes from industry, this rate is 16 percent in our country. 40 percent of machinery exports are made to developed countries such as EU countries, USA, Canada and Russia. This structure of exports shows that our machinery manufacturing sector is in a very good position in terms of competition in world markets. According to CECIMO publications, Turkey has risen to the 7th place in the EU in machine tool manufacturing.”