Exploring Turkey’s Freight Market

Turkey is a major player on the global trade scene, with an important role in the route between Europe and Asia. If you are a freight forwarder exploring Turkey’s freight market, it is important to be aware of the particularities of the local market.?

In this blog post, we have compiled some important tips that can help you ensure the efficiency and safety of your operations in the Turkish freight market.

Some information about the Turkish market…

Let’s start exploring Turkey’s freight market with some information about the region.

Since 1980, Turkey has adopted an export-oriented approach. The fundamental objective of this approach is to create an outward-looking economic structure within the framework of a free market economy and to integrate into world markets. To achieve this goal, export-intensive measures consisting of various support components and schemes aimed at foreign trade liberalization have been implemented.

Turkey’s economy is one of the most complex in the world, ranking 38th in 2020. With a current GDP of US$, it ranked 19th in the world. In addition, Turkey is also an important player in global trade, being the 29th largest exporter and the 23rd largest importer of goods and services. In terms of GDP per capita, Turkey ranks 87th in the world.

Turkey’s main exports include cars, motor vehicles and parts, delivery trucks, gold, and refined oil. The largest destinations for these exports are Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Iraq, and Italy. In addition, Turkey is also the world’s largest exporter of raw iron bars, hand-woven carpets, wheat flour, marble, and braided copper wire.

Turkey’s main imports are gold, cars, refined petroleum, scrap iron, and motor vehicles and parts. The main sources of these imports are Germany, China, Russia, the United States, and Italy. In addition, Turkey is the world’s largest importer of scrap iron, unstranded synthetic filament yarn, sunflower seeds, unprocessed man-made fibers, and looms.

Some things you need to know before shipping to Turkey

The Ministry of Commerce is responsible for governing Turkey’s customs regulations. Customs legislation applies to eight regimes, each with its own rules and procedures, including free circulation, transit, bonded warehouse, inward processing, processing under customs control, temporary admission, external processing, and export.

Turkey is part of the Customs Union with the European Union (EU) and is obliged to align its laws with those of the EU in areas such as competition, intellectual property, trade policy, and the free movement of goods.?

The Turkey-EU Customs Union covers only industrial and processed agricultural products, with some association council decisions applied to agricultural products. Coal and steel products are regulated by a preferential agreement.?

The export process involves shipping products in accordance with Turkey’s export regulations and customs regulations out of its customs area or into free trade zones or other means accepted by the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade. There are several types of exports including registered, pre-licensed, consignment, barter trade, no returns, and leasing.

With the exception of items prohibited by laws, decrees, and international agreements, all types of goods can be exported freely. However, the restrictions and prohibitions established by the WTO may be applied in cases that affect the market balance, cause shortages of goods, harm public safety, morals, health, protection of fauna and flora, the environment, as well as articles of artistic, historical and archaeological value.

Under the import regime, on the other hand, the release of the goods, that arrive in Turkey’s customs territory in free circulation, is possible through the application of trade policy measures, the completion of other formalities provided for the import of goods, and the collection of taxes legally due.

In addition, in order to be aware of the documents that are required to be submitted to the customs administration during the importation of goods, the position of the customs tariff statistics of the goods issued has to be known, just like at the stage of the interaction of the taxes due.?

Before starting the import process, it is necessary to make an inquiry about the required standards and different restrictions imposed on the entry of imported goods into the customs territory of Turkey, such as prohibition, permits, quotas, and specialized customs applications, and whether the documents concerning the goods, such as inspection certificate, control certificate, health certificate, analysis report, and CE certificate, will be required by the customs administration and, if applicable, the preliminary preparation in this regard.

The authority for determining the goods whose import is prohibited belongs mainly to the Ministry of Economy. In reference to this, the import of specific goods, chemicals, and residues pertaining to environmental protection is prohibited. On the other hand, the import of certain goods that are not directly subject to the import ban may be imported with permission given the protection of human, animal, and environmental health. In addition, certain goods may only be imported by certain institutions.

Find the right partner!

To sum up, importing or exporting shipments from Turkey requires knowledge of the prevailing customs and export regulations. When exploring Turkey’s freight market it is essential to know the different types of exports, including the restrictions and prohibitions imposed.?

Doing good research and planning before starting the import or export is crucial to ensure that all requirements are met smoothly and smoothly. By following these tips, freight forwarders can have a successful import or export from Turkey.

To continue exploring the Turkey freight market, make sure you choose the right freight partner to make your shipment successful.