Issue: 52 Year: 6
July - August 2011 www.turkishornamentalflowers.org
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ZAFER ÇAĞLAYAN:
“We will storm into the target countries”
After the
Flower Festival...
BASKANDAN
Embracing Turkey with a wind of change… Our union has been the voice of the ornamental plants sector since the day it was established and has represented our exporters in the best way both through its works and all the events it has organized. At the end of June 2011, we moved our headquarters to Ankara and set ourselves a new vision. We are planning to make greater leaps in the sector with our new vision and image. We will work to open up to Turkey and thus get closer to our exporters in all regions in the new period. We will also strengthen the image of the Turkish ornamental plants sector in the international arena through our forthcoming projects and events. In this respect, the “Project of Entering to the Central European Market” we launched this year will be a major step. We performed the educational phase of the project in August. In the forthcoming period, we will organize committee visits to 7 target countries we have determined. Our target is to increase the number of the markets to which we export and to enhance the recognition of our products. Our efforts are continuing at a fast pace for the “Expo 2016 Antalya” project, which is of great importance for the future of our sector and will give it a big acceleration. Attendance of our country to the international expo organisations that will take place in Thailand in 2011 and Netherlands in 2012 will make a remarkable contribution to the recognition of our union. Besides these good news, we should also mention the increase in our export, which helps us get closer to our goal of an export of 75 million dollars by the end of the year. Our export has reached 54,3 million dollars by the end of August, registering an increase of 37 percent. Especially the advances in our live plants export this year made us happy. Our export of live plants to the markets such as Iraq, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan is increasing steadily and really promising. In addition, the export of cut flowers is on the rise, too. We have redesigned our magazine in such a way to better reflect the sector. In this issue, we are greeting our exporters with our new image. Wishing that these changes carry us to a better and more secure future, I would like to salute all the members of our sector.
Osman BAĞDATLIOĞLU President of the Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters Union
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ÇIÇEKETKINLIK
After the
Flower Festival... 2
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T
he Flower Festival, organized for the 7th time this year on May 20 - 21, 2011, was attended by the whole ornamental plants sector and the visitors had a really enjoyable time. The sector had a very busy schedule especially in May due to the export boom in spring and thanks to the festival, the representatives of the sector had some fun and left a tiring season behind themselves.
attended the festival and thousands of flowers were distributed to them as well. Thus, they also had chance to enjoy the flowers, which display the beauty of Antalya. Besides agriculture, the importance of tourism was also highlighted at the festival. Flower design shows, folk dances and various animations performed during the festival offered the attendants an entertaining time.
This year’s festival, held under the motto “Flowers of the world come together in Antalya,” witnessed joyful scenes during the flower cortege, competitions and other events. During the activities of the Antalya Flower Festival, which started with the traditional flower cortege, about 2 million branches of cut flowers were used. Within the scope of the festival, the attending companies did landscape designs at Cumhuriyet Square and a flower design competition was organized on behalf of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, in which attendants ranking in the first places were awarded prizes.
FLOWER FESTIVALS ARE IMPORTANT ALL AROUND THE WORLD The flower festivals held in different cities and countries in the world get so associated with their cities that they become symbols of them. The most important ones include Bloemencorso (Netherlands), Baguio Flower Festival (Philippines), Chiang Mai Flower Festival (Thailand) and Hanami Festival (Japan). There are also some flower festivals in almost every country, which are identified with its culture and unique kinds of flowers. Antalya Flower Festival, organized annually and identified with the city, represents Turkey in this field.
Vehicles in the flower cortege decorated with colourful flowers were the center of interest at the festival, organized with the aim of promoting the flower sector, which provides a big workforce and contributes greatly to the Turkish economy in terms of export.
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THE AIM IS TO SPREAD LOVE OF FLOWERS The excitement around the festival, held to spread the love of flowers, is getting more and more every year. This year, tourists also
A HUNDRED PERCENT INCREASE IN THE PER CAPITA FLOWER CONSUMPTION IN TURKEY The actual aim of the Antalya Flower Festival, which is usually known as the precursor of spring, is to spread the love and culture of flowers among people. Through the events organized within the festival, our rich array of flower types are promoted. Thanks
Vehicles in the flower cortege decorated with colourful flowers were the center of interest at the festival, organized with the aim of promoting the flower sector, which provides a big workforce and contributes greatly to the Turkish economy in terms of export.
to the flower festival and other promotion activies, the per capita flower consumption in Turkey increased by a hundred percent, from its very low level of 1 dollar to 3 dollars. This is another important factor showing us that the festival reached its aim. THE FESTIVAL CONTRIBUTES TO THE PROMOTION OF ANTALYA AS WELL The Flower Festival contributes not only to the promotion of the flower sector but also to the promotion, economic mobility and cultural richness of Antalya. Flowers grown in this region are promoted to Turkey and the world. The Flower Festival, which spreads the message of love, fraternity and friendship across the society, also brings an atmosphere of unity, solidarity and cooperation to the sector. This solidarity formed between the flower producers and exporters as they are both going through hard times is seen as an important factor that takes the sector forward. The producer companies, which support the festival with their products, celebrate the end of the flower season and prepare for the next season with bigger goals and higher expectations. For the forthcoming years, it is aimed to promote the festival more comprehensively on both national and international platforms. It does not seem difficult to reach this aim when the solidarity and the growth potential of the sector are considered, which set a good example. It is planned that the festival will not be limited to just a weekend but last for weeks in an atmosphere of a carnival. “Expo 2016 Antalya� will be a major step forward in this respect. Thousands of people will attend the Flower Festival, which will be organized within the framework of this fair.
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Minister of Economy
ZAFER ÇAGLAYAN: “We will storm into the target countries”
The ornamental plants and products sector, which has provided the Turkish economy a high increase in added value in a short time, keeps expanding its export network. We interviewed the Minister of Economy Zafer Çağlayan and discussed with him about his opinions on the sector and the 2012 goals. Çağlayan declared that they are planning to support the creative and economical projects offered by the sector.
M
inister of Economy Zafer Çağlayan made it clear in his recent speeches that they will resolutely struggle against the current account deficit in the forthcoming period. He stated that they will create an incentive system which is to decrease the import, increase the export and distribute the foreign capital into different regions of Turkey. In our interview, he also announced the good news that they will subsidize the projects from the ornamental plants and products sector as well and underlined that they will storm into the markets of the target countries.
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You declared that our export registered a record increase in September 2011 according to Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) data compared to the previous September figures. Can you make a general assessment regarding our export? Our exporters work with might and main to continue this rally of export. Export figures of the first 8 months published by TUIK, combined with the September export figures published by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), show that our export registered an increase of about 16,4 % in September and amounted to 10 billion 723 million dollars. As of the end of the first 9 months of this year, our export increased by
Ekonomi Bakanı Minister of Economy
Zafer Çağlayan
21,7 percent and reached 99 billion 453 million dollars. Our export in the last 12 months, on the other hand, reached 131,6 billion dollars, thus exceeding 127 billion dollars, the targeted sum in the framework of our Medium Term Program. These figures are a signal that we will break new records in export. The 16,4 percent increase registered in the exports in September indicates the importance of a competitive rate of exchange. Competitive dollar rates do not only increase the export but also decrease the import. In September 2011, our export increased by 16,4 percent compared to September 2010, 16,1 percent compared to NAFTA countries, 24,5 percent compared to the other American countries, 20,5 percent compared to the CIS countries, 48,7 percent compared to the Far Eastern countries, 31,4 percent compared to the other European countries and 7,4 percent compared to the other Asian countries. This is a proof showing that our exporters have succeeded in diversifying their markets despite the developments in the Middle East and North Africa and the economic fluctuations in Europe. All these advances display the success of the target countries and target markets strategy of our ministry. The 16,4 percent increase in our export in September will be a milestone in reaching an export amount of 500 billion dollars, Turkey’s export goal for the year 2023; because factors like the current situation in the EU, the problems in the world economy, natural disaster in Japan, and the recent events in Middle Eastern and North African countries did not prevent our exporters. They are already focused on the 2023 goal. I believe that we will surpass our Medium Term Program goal with our exporters thanks to our rally of export and break a new export record in 2011. To surpass the Medium Term Program goal, we have to realize a monthly export of 9,2 billion dollars in the last 3 months of the year. The export figures in the first 9 months of 2011 prove that we are about to break a record in this field. Central Anatolian Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters Union has some ongoing efforts to increase the export in its sector, such as the “Project of Entering to the Central European Market” and “Expo 2016.” The union also moved its headquarters to Ankara in order to work more effectively. What do
you think about the contributions of this union to our export? The ornamental plants and products sector is a young and dynamic one. Turkey has some important advantages to support its success in export in this sector, such as its appropriate climate conditions and geographical characteristics. While increasing its power in its existing markets, the ornamental plants sector is steadily getting stronger in new markets as well. The sector is increasing its export remarkably in markets such as Iraq and Turkmenistan, which are included in our target countries strategy. I appreciate the projects of the sector aimed at market growth and gaining new markets. I think that our recognition in new markets and our export will increase through the “Ornamental Plants Sector’s Ent-
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encourage our exporters and they will move towards their aims more self-assuredly.
rance to the Central European Market” project designed for the goals regarding Central Europe, determined by the sector as the target market to increase the export in alternative markets. Our ministry supports this project, too, within the scope of the communique “Development of International Competitiveness.” The “Expo 2016 Antalya” project, in my opinion, is another effort that will give a new impulse to the sector both in the short and long term, fuel its success and increase the recognition of Turkey in the international arena. Turkish ornamental plants sector will develop thanks to Expo and similar projects. We should consider such projects as torches enlightening our export route and support them. I think we can promote our country and export through such long lasting, well-designed projects. The vision of this project will further
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The ornamental plants and products sector, aiming at an export of 75 million dollars by the end of the year, has already reached 62 million dollars by the end of September, registering an increase of 42 percent. How do you interpret the contribution of this increase to our overall export? I believe that the ornamental plants sector, one of the 24 export sectors in Turkey, will develop and get bigger although it is a small sector today. Despite having a share of only six per mille of our total export, the sector is very promising with its export increases. These increases have been steady in recent years and the sector is well on its way to its goal for this year, with an increase of 42 percent in the first nine months of 2011. I believe wholeheartedly that the sector of ornamental plants, which was the sector with the greatest export increase among the plant products in the first nine months, will reach its 2023 goal of an export of 500 million dollars with similar increase rates in the following years. Our ministry will always provide support to our exporters to help them reach this goal. When we consider the sectoral trade volume in the world, we see that our country has very promising development opportunities in this sector. Rival countries provide a great support to the sector. Through implementation of some methods that will enable the ornamental plants sector to develop, we can add to this sector’s strength in Turkey, too. Making use of these practices will make the success of our exporters permanent. The ornamental plants sector, without any input of import, provides a high added value to the economy of our country. The sector operates exclusively through domestic production and workforce and thus creates a great deal of employment. It contributes to the social structure of our country by creating new business fields and providing accomodation and education opportunities to the employed people. This shows the importance of the ornamental plants sector in terms of avoiding import and developing domestic production. Import is the main problem in all sectors, especially the ornamental plants and products sector. What kind of efforts does your ministry make to decrease the import and increase the export? As the Ministry of Economy, in the framework of our
export-oriented production strategy, we are planning to encourage investment, consider the priorities of our industry in the establishment of foreign-capital and overseas investments, and thus enlarge the fields of service that enable foreign currency inflow. In this context, the most important subject is lessening the dependence on import. As for the incentive system, we are preparing for the new period. Our incentive system will be transformed into a system that helps us eliminate the dependence on import. We will launch important openings both on a regional and sectoral basis. To enable the stability of the export increase, the structure of export should change. Export should have a structure that provides high added value and features high technology. This is really essential. We will take the changes in the world into consideration while maintaining the export increase. We have detected some critical factors that lead to dependence on import. We have started some efforts to decrease the import especially in some certain sectors. Through the “Input Supply Strategy” which was started to analyze Turkey’s import, we have so far analyzed the iron and steel, automative and machinery sectors and offered some policy suggestions. Turkey has an export goal of 500 billion dollars for the year 2023. Export-import coverage ratio will be 80 percent in 2023; while achieving this goal, we will free the production from its dependence on import. Although Turkey is a rich country in terms of endemic plant diversity, climate and soil structure, it can not make use of this advantage effectively. This is also a problem often mentioned in our interviews with companies. What subsidies are provided to the companies that want to grow the products which Turkey imports from other countries? The geographical characteristics of our country offer us a great
advantage in terms of plant diversity. We should make use of it as effectively as we can. As the Ministry of Economy, we are ready to provide every kind of subsidy in order to use this advantage in the most effective way not only in the field of agricultural production but also in ornamental plant growing. As I stated on every platform, the Research&Development and innovation efforts create great excitement within the Ministry of Economy. Our ministry welcomes and supports all Research&Development works in the ornamental plants sector, including both endemic plant growing and trial planting of the products grown in other countries, if they are promising in terms of profit in the domestic market and in export. We have a budget. In the recent period, we have been subsidizing creative and economical projects from all sectors. We will continue to subsidize the projects from the ornamental plants sector, too. Turkey’s growing and getting richer depends on increasing our export and providing a higher amount of added value from our export products. Therefore, our production structure should be transformed so as to become more export-oriented. As the Ministry of Economy, we have launched the Export-Oriented Production Strategy and GİTES (Input Supply Strategy) to realize this transformation. Through these strategies, we will not only make our production structure more export-oriented but also struggle against the current account deficit. In addition, we will storm into the target markets and target countries with our exporters to increase our export. We will enable our companies to effectively participate in fairs. Through our support in market research and other fields, we will help our exporters open up new export markets and raise their shares in the existing markets.
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