The FINANCIAL — The analysis of the World Bank new report “Turkey Country Economic Memorandum: Trading up to High Income” confims that in the past decade Turkey increased its export competitiveness thanks to a shift in the export basket towards medium-tech and more sophisticated products, accompanied by higher export quality.
The FINANCIAL — The analysis of the World Bank new report “Turkey Country Economic Memorandum: Trading up to High Income” confims that in the past decade Turkey increased its export competitiveness thanks to a shift in the export basket towards medium-tech and more sophisticated products, accompanied by higher export quality. But to reach the 2023 export targets, Turkey needs to get into high-tech products and move up the global value chains, to benefit from shifts in global demand and confront growing competition from other low-cost producers, according to the World Bank Group.
The report analyzes Turkey’s trade performance based on the Trade Competitiveness Diagnostics toolkit developed by the International Trade Department of the World Bank.
The report suggests that this will require a multi-faceted approach squarely targeting increased productivity. The report recommends to: (i) focus policy on attracting more Foreign Direct Investment, a key conveyor of advanced technology and integration into global production networks; (ii) promote innovation, including by increasing business R&D investment and improving links between research and business applications; (iii) upgrade the skills both of the existing work force and of new entrants; and (iv) improve access to long-term financing and develop equity and venture capital markets, with a view to unlock the potential of the dynamic SME sector. Finally, regulatory reforms to make the services sector more competitive would not only boost services exports but also contribute to the competitiveness of goods exports.
“Trade is a key driver of growth in the transition to high income,” said Martin Raiser, World Bank Country Director for Turkey on the occasion of the launch. “The report suggests that horizontal policies to upgrade Turkey’s physical, human and institutional assets are the key to sustained export competitiveness,” he added.
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