15 May 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
Turkish goods have a good image in the lucrative African markets, Tamer Taşkın, chairman of the Turkish-African Business Council, which operates under the umbrella of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), has said.
Turkish goods attract a great deal of attention in African countries, Taşkın stated, adding that “everyone there recommends Turkish goods to each other, praising them for being ‘of equivalent quality to European goods but at a price that is 20 to 25 percent lower’.” With a population of 1 billion people, Africa meets almost all of its demand through imports, he said, stressing that businessmen in Turkey should benefit from this profitable and almost untouched market.Taşkın was speaking yesterday at the “Opportunities in Exports” meeting, jointly organized by the İzmir Chamber of Commerce (İZTO), DEİK and Akbank in İzmir. He said they do not see Africa as a temporary alternative market to Europe but as a permanent export destination. “Things like safaris, droughts, hunger and poverty come to people’s minds when Africa is mentioned. That is why no one from around the world goes there. This is an opportunity for us. This is also why I am able to make export connections every time I go there,” Taşkın said.
