IHBIR Deputy Chairman Soyyigit: Turkish products dominate the Middle East market

Dubai Gulfood 2022, which is among the biggest fairs of 2022, started the day before yesterday. A total of 151 brands from across Turkey participated in the fair, which will continue until February 17. Speaking at the fair, where the high level of participation was from Turkey, Deputy Chairman of the Board of IHBIR Aydin Soyyigit said, “The fair is one of the most important fairs of the Turkish industry and exporters. The Middle East Region has always been an important market in terms of its potential. It is a very important opportunity for us to present our new and innovative products at the fair. We've seen a lot of activity this year. Previously, there was no activity due to the effect of the pandemic, but this year, buyers are also thirsty for fairs, they wanted to see different products, and it was an important opportunity, a good meeting opportunity for them.”

“EXPORT FIGURES ARE ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING IN DISTANT COUNTRIES”

Stating that they organized fairs all over the world and came together with purchasing committees Soyyigit said, “At the same time, we participate in big international fairs with an info stand. We share the potentials there and our contact information with our member companies. One of our other major areas of activity is purchasing committees. Purchasing committees invite qualified companies from all over the world to Turkey. We bring them together with our member companies. Recently, serious potential has been obtained in distant markets, important business connections have been made. The best part is that they are sustainable. Our export figures are also increasing significantly in distant countries.”

“WE WILL BRING QUALIFIED PURCHASING COMMITTEES”

Emphasizing that they also organize many organizations online due to the pandemic, Soyyigit said, “As IHBIR, we have never made excuses in this sense and we will continue our activities, even if it is a pandemic. We organized more than 50 physical and virtual purchasing committees. More than 5,000 meetings were held in these committees. Tens of millions of dollars of connections were made. These have been made sustainable. 850 companies participated in this. We will continue to increase it. At the same time, we will organize a physical VIP procurement committee in March. Here, too, we will bring qualified purchasing committees from important regions of the world, including regions with high purchasing power. We will provide the opportunity to bring these companies together with our companies. Our activities will continue to increase.”

Soyyigit also stated that Istanbul is a very important meeting center and they are planning to organize big events in Turkey.

“WOMEN FROM ALL OVER ANATOLIA EMPLOY, PRODUCE, CREATE”

Saying that IHBIR established the ‘Women Inspiring Export Platform’ Soyyiğit continued as follows:

“While their number was 10, the number has now increased to 60. That continues to increase. We had the opportunity to open their products to the world market. We also act together at fairs. They also started to export seriously. They had the opportunity to meet the world market. Women from all over Anatolia employ, produce, create added value and have very beautiful products. These are also in demand. We have a lot of work to do for the export of the country and I believe that we will get results in return for the work we will do.”

“TURKISH PRODUCTS ARE DOMINANT IN THE MIDDLE EAST MARKET”

Stating that Turkish products are dominant in the Middle East Market and there is an increasing market share, Soyyigit said, “At the same time, the big markets here started to open offices in Turkey. This is an interesting situation. They reach more manufacturers, which means more exports. This is very important to us. Investors in the MENA market are establishing production in Turkey. Their numbers have been increasing recently. Purchasing offices and production facilities began to be established. The Turkish market is progressing as an integrated. The Middle East market is always a target market for us. We will take this market further.”

“WE WILL CONSTANTLY DEVELOP NEW PRODUCTS”

“There always have been chocolate and confectionery in the Turkish market. These product groups show diversity. More value-added products are produced. Recently, our prices on a per ton basis have increased. In the past, there were only biscuits, but now there are coated biscuits. Weights decreased, but unit ton prices increased. The adult snack began to flourish. Baklava, which reflects the culture and taste of Turkey, started to come to the fore. Likewise with ice cream. Turkey's coffee began to increase in importance. Maybe the TV series, which we call the service sector, have an important effect on this. There is also a cross-link in this business. There are many different alternative product groups in the product groups and they are developing. It's good that consumers are looking for different things, at least they show demand. We will constantly develop new products, differentiate them and try to keep the market in our hands. This is our main goal” Soyyigit said noting that value-added products are produced in Turkey.

“WE MEET WITH THE MANUFACTURER AND THE CUSTOMER”

General Director of Cherry Valley and Head of Istanbul Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters' Association Melisa Tokgoz Mutlu said, “We export to every country in the world. We are working as 95 percent export-oriented. This fair is very important for us because now the heart of the world beats in the bay. Gulf Food is very important for us in this sense because there are participants from all over the world. Here we find many manufacturers and also customers in Europe. Thanks to this fair, we easily reached the Far East, Africa, and South America markets. It is very important to be a participant in this fair every year. When the customer sees you here every year, their trust in you increases. Even though we couldn't attend last year during the pandemic, we opened our stand and showed our customers that we are here. This is important.”

“THE HEART OF THE WORLD BEATS IN DUBAI”

Expressing that she thinks the heart of the world beats in Dubai, Mutlu said “This year, we are showing the power of Turkey here. There was an incredible increase in all agricultural products of Turkey during the pandemic period. We can change our factories and production areas very quickly, according to the demand of our customers. This is a feature that very few countries and companies in the world have.”

“TURKEY BECOME A SUPPLIER COUNTRY”

Reminding that the logistics problem emerged with the pandemic, Mutlu continued as follows:

“At a very important point in Turkey's logistics, we have become the supplier country of Europe and the entire Middle East, Russia and Africa. There is also a climate crisis. We are among the countries least affected by the climate crisis. If we consider especially fruit and vegetable products and see our competitors as Italy, Spain, America, and China, Turkey has become the country preferred as a supplier in many countries of the world, since China is currently having difficulties in supply with the pandemic. Competitors have begun to be affected by the climate crisis and we have seen that they are no longer as strong as they used to be in many products. This put us in a very important position. The demand for packaged products has also increased, so Turkey has an important position in this regard. We need to protect our water and our soil very well. If we control our water footprint well and continue to produce without polluting the world, Turkey will become a very important agricultural producer and supplier.”