AİMSAD/Kaçak: We Must Address Visa Issues, Problems in the Subindustry, and Access to Financing to Ensure Sustainable Exporting

The woodworking machinery sector, which has maintained a current account surplus since 2017 and increased the ratio of exports to imports to around 160%, highlighted three fundamental issues to ensure uninterrupted exports in 2025. During the sector workshop conducted by the Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers Association (AİMSAD) with its members, it became clear that there is a need for effective solutions to the problems of visas, access to sub-industry, and financing, which are the biggest barriers to sustainable exports.

VISA ISSUES, ACCESS TO FINANCE, AND SUB-INDUSTRY Arif Onur Kaçak, Board Member and Secretary General of AİMSAD, commented on the results of the sector workshop: “The Turkish economy continues on its path without compromising its production, employment, and export-based growth policy. Sectors like ours are working tirelessly to sustain exports despite all the global adversities. As AİMSAD, we undertook significant studies in 2024 to identify our sectoral problems. Our findings revealed that urgent solutions are needed for critical issues such as access to finance, foreign visa problems, and the sub-industry. Our manufacturing companies face cost challenges due to the instability in the exchange rate. Additionally, the uncertainty of obtaining foreign visas brings serious issues for sector players. Sales processes are affected due to the inability to secure visas, leading to disruptions in participation in trade fairs that are crucial for exports. These situations diminish the strength of our companies in export markets. Furthermore, the lack of development in the sub-industry in our country places a significant financial burden on machinery manufacturers. Resolving this problem will facilitate the swift growth of all main industry branches. Therefore, it is essential to closely examine countries like China with developed sub-industries and implement similar incentives and support mechanisms in our country to develop this area. We firmly believe that the government, which has positioned export growth as a primary goal, will take concrete steps to minimize these issues by 2025 and beyond.”

Kaçak stated that their primary objectives for 2025 are to strengthen their existing presence in foreign markets and to expand into new ones: “The top three countries where the sector currently exports the most are Russia, the United States, and Bulgaria. In the short and medium term, our targeted new markets include Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom. Our forecast for the upcoming year indicates that economic and sectoral challenges will increase further. Nevertheless, the innovative production structure of our sector, high value-added products, and the ability to quickly adapt to changing needs give us confidence in overcoming these challenges.”