In response, Tayfun Küçükoğlu stated that "We are in a period where we may have difficulty finding our direction with both the uncertainties in our country and the effects coming from abroad."
Following this, Dr. Can Fuat Gürlesel, the Economy Consultant of İMSAD, also expressed that a contraction is expected in the construction sector in the US and Europe.
Turkey's capacity is qualified to meet both domestic and international demands
Türkiye İMSAD (Association of Turkish Construction Material Producers) met with industry stakeholders at a meeting where the global and Turkish economies were evaluated. Turkey İMSAD Economy Consultant Dr. Can Fuat Gürlesel shared his predictions at the event titled 'Sectoral Economic Agenda'. He stated that there is an expectation of contraction in the construction sector in Europe and the US, and pointed out that a significant portion of Turkey's construction material exports are to these regions.
The "Sectoral Economic Agenda" meeting, organized for the first time by Turkey IMSAD (Association of Turkish Construction Material Producers), was held online with the contributions of Demirdöküm and GF Hakan Plastik.
There are many reasons that make the upcoming period uncertain
The Chairman of the Turkey IMSAD Board of Directors, Tayfun Küçükoğlu, started his opening speech at the event by saying, 'We are in a process where we may have difficulty finding our direction due to the effects from both our country and abroad, which contain a lot of uncertainties, where our forecasting ability is being challenged, and our ability to make projections based on the past is narrowing.' He continued his words as follows:
'There are many reasons that make the upcoming period uncertain. We need to predict factors such as how the world economy will change and where its policies will evolve from these reasons. On the other hand, it is also essential to determine how the economic policies and election effects in our country will affect our economy and our sector in the upcoming period. If we can predict all these factors in advance and make our preparations accordingly, we have full confidence that we will contribute more to our industry and economy.'"
Record exports
Tayfun Küçükoğlu emphasized the strategic importance of the construction materials industry for Turkey due to its total production and employment share. He said that the sector represents the industrial side of the construction industry and stands out from the contractor, architecture, real estate, and technical consultancy sectors with its contribution to the country's foreign trade, employment, and growth. Looking at the export figures of 33.74 billion dollars in 2022, we see that we have broken the all-time export record. Despite recession concerns and market slowdowns in the second half of the year, the annual export exceeded 35 billion dollars. However, looking at the whole 12 months, the sector broke the export record since August 2013 when the Turkey IMSAD Foreign Trade Index was measured. The Turkish construction materials industry has the capacity and innovative understanding to meet high demand both domestically and internationally. Therefore, I would like to especially emphasize that our sector will reach even better points in the upcoming period.
Recession is expected in the construction industry in the US and Europe
Turkey İMSAD Economic Advisor Dr. Can Fuat Gürlesel, who shared his predictions about the world economy at the meeting, said: "As we entered 2023, the struggle against issues such as high inflation, tight monetary policies, high cost of living and financial instability came to the fore in the world economy. In this context, at the end of the first 5 months of the year, we have seen that the tight monetary policies implemented globally have yielded results, the energy crisis has been resolved and inflation has entered a downward trend. However, despite these positive developments, a below-average economic growth is projected for the whole of 2023. The construction sector is expected to shrink, especially in the US and Europe. We see the effects of the increase in housing loan interest rates and the decrease in the number of housing construction licenses on this situation. The expectation of shrinkage in these regions, which cover a large part of Turkey's construction materials exports, creates a negative situation for the exports of our sector."
"Turkey's economic growth is at 4 percent"
Dr. Can Fuat Gürlesel also shared his analysis on the current state of the Turkish economy and said, "Macroeconomic indicators show that controlled monetary/ exchange rate policies are being implemented in our country. As a result, the foreign trade deficit in Turkey has increased to 120 billion dollars and the current account deficit to 55 billion dollars. However, despite this negative picture, economic growth is hovering around 4 percent."
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