Turkey, which has increased both its export and import rates in 2011, takes steps in order to meet the growing foreign trade deficit via new investments. The officials working on the important inputs of the textile sector regarding the foreign trade deficit, attach great importance to the countervailing duty on imports and the direct foreign investments. The Turkish textile sector closed 2011 with the USD 510 million worth of investment made in viscose staple fiber in Adana Organized Industrial Zone (AOSB) by the Indian based Aditya Birla Group, which has investments in 36 countries.
It is stated that an important import item will be eliminated when the viscose staple fiber, which is not manufactured in Turkey, will be started to be produced within the country. In the first 10 months of 2011, Turkey imported 172 thousand tons of viscose staple fiber which worth USD 530 million. The yearly capacity of the viscose staple fiber production facility that will be established on a 100 hectares of area in AOSB, is said to be 180 thousand tons and 20 percent of the facility’s production is aimed to be exported. The facility that will employ 550 people will start production in 2014.
Zafer Çağlayan, Minister of Economy, M. İlker Aycı, President of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) and K. K. Maheshwari, Aditya Birla Group Board Member- Business Director Pulp and Fiber Business participated and delivered speeches in the press meeting held in Dolmabahçe Palace on the investment of viscose staple fiber facility.
“Foreign Trade Deficit will be Met by the Investments”
Stating that Turkey recorded 147 billion Dollars worth of imports in 2011, Zafer Çağlayan, Minister of Economy, said that they’ve made extensive studies on 6 sectors. “These 6 sectors, which are iron and steel, machinery, automotive, chemical, agriculture, food and textile, recorded a total of 103 billion Dollars of imports and 73 billion Dollars of exports in 2010. These sectors created a total of 30 billion Dollars of foreign trade deficit. The highest deficit is observed in the chemical industry, which recorded 40 billion Dollars worth of imports and 16 billion Dollars worth of exports,” said Çağlayan. Çağlayan commented on the foreign trade deficit by saying; “Every beauty has its scum, however this pimple has abscessed.” Çağlayan emphasized that the the export rates have increased by 20 percent in spite of the shrinkage observed in the European market and the problems occurred in the North Africa
Çağlayan stated that with the 134 billion Dollars worth of exports it made in 2011, Turkey has broken the record for the history of the Republic. He added that they’ve become the investment hunters for enabling Turkey to manufacture the products that are demanded by and have to be imported by the country. Çağlayan remarked that compared to the first 10 months of 2010, Turkey attracted 11,5 billion Dollars of direct investments with an increse of 84 percent, in the same period of 2011. Çağlayan argued that these figures will double in the new period.
Zafer Çağlayan, Minister of Economy, stated that the country will greatly benefit from the viscose staple fiber facility when it starts to operate. “We hold the national and international investors in high esteem,” said Çağlayan. Underlining that Birla Group decided to establish a production facility in Turkey after a serious research it carried out, Çağlayan described this investment as a new year gift. “In the foreign direct investment confidence index survey, Turkey has left 10 steps behind and reached 13th step. Among the countries where the most investment contracts are made, we take the third place after China and South Korea and we’re the 36th country, which Birla Group makes investments in. I believe that they will make their 37th and 38th investments in our country. A more important bond has been established between Turkey and India, the two important countries of the future’s world. However a scarcity is observed in the exports Turkey makes to India. 200 million people in India, which has a population of 1 billion 200 millions, have high income levels and make important investments across the world. Therefore the investments should be made more carefully. Last year, India made a total of 365 billion Dollars worth of imports. 95 billion Dollars of this amount is for energy and the rest of it is for the other imported products. Nevertheless Turkey made 600 million Dollars worth of exports to India. India is now within our field of radar,” said Çağlayan.
Aditya Birla is in Turkey with Its 36th Investment
K.K. Maheshwari, Aditya Birla Group Board Member – Business Director Pulu and Fibre Business, said that Turkey is the 36th country, where investment has been made by Aditya Birla, which has a turnover of USD 35 billion, 50 companies engaged in various sectors such as textiles, metal, retail, cement, telecommunications, financial services, and 133 thousand employees. Maheshwari said that they are one of the leading manufacturers of viscose fiber and that they decided to establish a production facility in Turkey for it is one of their greatest buyers. Maheshwari remarked that in 2014, the first phase will go into production at the level of 120 thousand tons and later it will reach 180 thousand tons. Maheshwari also emphasized that the production will be carried out both for the domestic market and the exports.
Maheshwari answered the questions of Textil Dünyası and remarked that pulp, which is the raw material used in the viscose staple fiber production, will be supplied from the facilities located in the countries rich in forests such as Canada and Sweden. Maheshwari stated that when they started to search for the regions in Turkey to make investment, they saw that AOSB met all the requirements and so they decided to make the investment here. Maheswari emphasized that they supply the machinery park and equipments not only from India but also from the whole world
Adana has been Chosen for the Investment
In the his statement, M. İlker Aycı, President of Investment Agency of Turkey, which played an important role in the investment process of Aditya Birla Group, said that Aditya Birla made feasibility studies in 8 cities and decided on Adana, which has a strong infrastructure and a positive image among the industrialists of the region. Aycı continued by saying; “This project, which we have been following up with Sudhir Kulkarni, President of Indonesian and Turkish operations, and his team since March 2011, will enable the production of viscose staple fiber in Turkey. This investment is at the same time an example of our struggle to provide Turkey with the products, which occupy important places in their foreign trade deficit.”
Aycı remarked that because the Turkish textile sector is not engaged in viscose staple fiber production, it performs 600 million Dollars worth of viscose staple fiber imports per year. Aycı added that this investment will contribute much to the exports in the country and that they will try to attract new investments in Turkey in 2012.
A Close Look at Aditya Birla Group
With its 133 thousand employees and USD 35 billion dollar income, the Indian-based Aditya Birla Group, which operates in 36 countries, takes the 4th place in the list of Fortuna 500 – The Best Companies for the Leaders 2011- on the global level and the 1st place in the Asia-Pacific region. For the viscose staple fiber production, Aditya Birla operates in Tailand, Indonesia and China and for the production of pulp it operates in the facilities located in Canada, Sweden and India. The company which has been engaged in various sectors, is at the same time the 5th biggest acrylic fiber manufacturer of the world.
