The pandemic has changed supplier preferences, and countries such as Turkey have come to the fore in this new era due to their strategic locations and production capabilities.
In the early stages of the global epidemic, China suspended its production activities and global markets, including manufacturing giants like Germany, faced supply shortages.
Top officials and prominent experts repeatedly stressed that diversifying suppliers would be of strategic importance for output to continue without interruption.
Even during the pandemic's peak, Turkey was able to export and donate vital medical goods, such as ventilators and face masks, to several countries, even advanced ones.
Turkey is currently among the globe's strongest producers due to its strategic logistic networks, well-educated labor force and high-quality manufacturing capacity.
Opportunity for Turkey
Ersin Şahin, the head of Turkish diesel engine producer Erin Motor, said 2020 was a tough year with the sector facing difficulties adapting to the pandemic due to the uncertainty of the last year's second half.
Şahin said balances in the markets changed as supply chains were expected to shift from China to Turkey, adding that the nation has a significant opportunity.
"The signal for the increase in technological exports is important for our country's future. We see that the seeds planted in the last decade have just started to give fruit," he told Anadolu Agency.
In 2021, Turkey will provide new products to new markets, he said, adding that Erin Motor would also focus on fresh opportunities, such as Africa.
During the pandemic, sectors found innovative ways to reach customers, such as online fairs that can continue post-pandemic, he highlighted.
Digitalization has increased productivity in several areas, he said, adding that online meetings are more effective.
He predicted that Turkey would reach pre-pandemic figures as of the fourth quarter this year.
Erin Motor produces uniquely designed diesel engines using contributions from one of the country's leading technical universities, Yildız Teknik University.
The firm hopes to reduce or prevent engine imports to Turkey, which amount to $2.5 billion annually.
Turkish machinery sector expands in major economies
Kutlu Karavelioğlu, the head of Turkey's Machinery Exporters Association, said the country's machinery sector had exported to over 200 nations in 2020, earning $17.1 billion.
Income from these exports decreased by only 4% in 2020, while global machinery trade narrowed by 12% under the pandemic, he underlined.
"While small and medium manufacturers of machinery in the (European Union) were paralyzed, we increased our market share in many major economies," he added.
"In the U.S., the protectionist restrictions and the expectations for a transition to a green economy will accelerate the renewal of existing machine parks. I think global expectations are supportive of our industry's performance in 2021," he underlined.
Online trade delegations
The Uludag Automotive Industry Exporters' Association also released a statement this week, announcing that Turkish exporters would organize digital trade delegations to increase sales in certain fields to target countries.
Turkey rolled out its Export Master Plan in 2019 to select target countries and prioritize five sectors to raise the country's exports.
The plan named the machinery, automotive, electric and electronics and chemical and food industries as priority sectors, as well as several target countries – including the U.S., Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa, South Korea, India, Iraq, the U.K., Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Russia and Chile.
The association said a trade delegation would meet in March to increase exports to South Africa, which currently stands at roughly $1-2 billion.
South Africa, which imports around $7 billion annually in the automotive sector, imported only $64 million of such products from Turkey last year, the association reminded.
Earlier this week Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry President in Turkey Livio Manzini said that the pandemic once again revealed Turkey’s crucial role in European trade. Over $4.6 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) flowed into Turkey in the first 11 months of 2020, as Italy topped the list with $970 million, official data showed.
Last month, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said after his diplomatic talks in Brussels, that Turkey and EU officials have chosen to further enhance dialogue and engage in concrete actions. Both sides agreed on the need to renew the March 18 migration deal that is aimed at reducing the influx of irregular migrants heading toward Europe.