Trade volume between Türkiye, Ukraine reaches record high of $8B

That’s according to the head of the board of the Turkish-Ukrainian business association, Burak Pehlivan, who spoke with Patronlar Dünyası, Ukrinform reports.

According to the official, the volume of trade between the two countries in 2023 reached the highest level of $8 billion, which is a historical maximum. This includes $3 billion in exports.

"We have Turkish investments that have reached approximately $300 million. Twenty-two months into the outset of of the war. <...> Turkish investors remain the country that invests the most in Ukraine," Pehlivan said.

"I hope that when the Free Trade Agreement between Türkiye and Ukraine, signed during the visit of our president to Ukraine on February 3, 2022, three weeks before the war, but whose ratification was delayed in parliaments due to the war, is enforced, the volume of trade between the two countries will exceed $10 billion," Pehlivan said.

According to the head of the business association, the economies of the two countries are not competitive, but complementing each other.

"Although the economy of Ukraine shrank by 30% due to the war, and the volume of its foreign trade decreased by a third, this year we are breaking another export record. Today, Türkiye is among the top three leaders in Ukraine both in terms of export and import," Pehlivan said.

He clarified that a significant part of Turkish business investments in Ukraine is in the field of renewable energy. In particular, Turkish companies Güriş, Exim Holding, and Pekingtaş Energy work in this field.

"Turkish companies, especially those investing in the field of renewable energy, were late to the Ukrainian market. However, this late entry, which is usually a disadvantage, turned into an advantage during the war. Because today 90% of Ukraine's wind energy capacity and 30% of solar energy capacity are located in the regions occupied by Russia," the publication cites Pehlivan as saying.

The head of the association also recalled that the Turkish construction company Onur Group is one of the largest foreign investors in Ukraine, with about 5,000 employees.

"This is the country's largest investor in the field of construction. Its current investments exceed $200 million. And these investments are not only in construction, but in a total of eight industries. The group believes so much in the country's future that investment continues in eight different sectors at the same time," he said.

As reported by Ukrinform, on December 13, during the meeting of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economy Yulia Svyridenko and the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye Mustafa Levent Bilgen, the readiness of Ukraine and Türkiye to ratify the Free Trade Agreement in the near future was discussed.