Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan stated that they have implemented “contactless foreign trade” within the scope of the measures taken against the new type of coronavirus (Kovid-19) epidemic and said, “We have achieved serious successes that will set an example to the whole world. I want our business world to continue trading using these routes and facilities. ” said.
Minister Pekcan evaluated the “contactless foreign trade” practices launched within the scope of the measures taken against Kovid-19 at a press conference held at the Ministry of Trade.
Expressing that humanity has given one of the biggest tests of recent history, Pekcan said that the epidemic also affected the economy in global trade negatively.
Pekcan pointed out the measures taken at the border customs gates in order to provide social needs and supply chain as the Ministry of Commerce, and said that he was with his citizen in order to overcome the epidemic with the least damage in the state.
In Turkey, the Ministry Pekcan reminded that they begin to take serious measures in coordination with other ministries before seen virus, "We performed our work in this direction and contactless foreign trade have achieved serious success will be an example to the whole world. I want our business world to continue trading using these routes and facilities. ” he spoke.
From time to time, "When will Gürbulak, Esendere, Kapıköy be opened?" Noting that questions and demands came, Pekcan made the following assessment:
“As of March 1, we closed the passenger entry and exit with Iraq. I said, 'Trade will not close.' I said. 'How do we do?' they said, 'We will find a solution.' we said. Here, we successfully carry out the trade by taking all security and health measures with driver, trailer and container replacement. First it was 200-500 trucks, we went up to 1140 trucks. I hope we will continue to increase this further. Our drivers take the vehicle to the buffer zone, there are drivers coming from the opposite side, taking the necessary precautions, we have established such a ring. The vehicle is disinfected when it comes to our buffer zone. Our drivers take the car and go back inside. On this occasion, we are working to restore our trade with Iraq to an earlier level. ”
“Locomotive” Solution in Trade with Iran
Reminding that border gates opening to Iran were closed on February 23, Pekcan said that they were looking for a solution because there was no buffer zone in between. Pekcan, informing Iran that 130 thousand trucks go annually, said, “First of all, we established our communication with Georgia and Azerbaijan. We increased the capacities of our Türkgözü, Çıldır-Aktaş and Sarp customs gates and made them work 24 hours a day. With our interlocutors, we have made 36 thousand trucks going to Central Asia through Iran through this route. ” used expressions.
Pekcan, referring to the importance of the railway in foreign trade during the period of the epidemic, said: “The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway is currently open to the service of the trade world with a capacity of 2 tons. We can increase this to 500 thousand tons upon request. We are in coordination with our Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. During this period, we need to focus on railways. Since we do not have a buffer zone, we solved our problem with Iran through Kapıköy train. We found an interesting solution here. Our locomotives push the train from Kapıköy, and when it enters the Iranian border, the locomotives in this country pull the train. We operate the system in this way. Currently, 6 wagons (80 truckloads) are ready for service. As of today, we can increase this to 160 wagon (120 truckloads). We recommend those who complain that the doors are closed and use this line. ”
Continuing to Trade with Driver and Trailer Exchange in Kapıkule
Minister Pekcan stated that they had taken their precautions in Kapıkule and said that they had to change vehicles and drivers in the parks inside the customs area on Turkish trucks. Thus, the Turkish driver waiting in quarantine for 14 days, emphasizing that they prevent the process Pekcan, foreign drivers are also subject to quarantine procedures for entering Turkey provides the vehicle and the driver told me they change jobs in order to prevent the disruption of the buffer zone. Pekcan stated that they reached 1138 vehicles with this application and that they would increase their number.
Pekcan emphasized that there was a queue in Kapıkule in the first application, and then they reduced this queue with the operation of the measures.
“We also have trade in Central Europe, Italy and France. Turkey Pendik, Tuzla, Ambarlı, Yalova, Çeşme and Mersin ports of Trieste and Bari in Italy, in France we are sending vehicles to the port of Sete and Toulon. 170 thousand vehicles go to Italy annually and 50 thousand annually to France. From the moment these measures are taken, we are sending these vehicles without a driver with ferries. The other side is also taking the load with his tow truck and driver. We do not allow the crew arriving with these ships to land at the port, we disinfect during unloading. ”
Expressing that there is a train from Kapıkule, that it carries 35 thousand 800 wagons per year, and that they are in a position to increase it to 50 thousand wagons as soon as possible.Çerkezköyalso had a railway line, it used to run once a day. As of today, we have also doubled this, and the loads to go to Bulgaria are able to go through this line. If necessary, we have the opportunity to set up a new ferry service on the Karasu-Constanta line. This is able to reach up to 400 trucks capacity. ” said.
Expressing that they, as the Ministry of Commerce, have made a superior effort to meet the social needs and provide the supply chain, by taking all kinds of security measures, thanked customs personnel and said that today's successes and sacrifices will not be forgotten.
“We Will Continue Our Activities In Line With Our Goals”
Pekcan stated that, on a question, foreign trade figures in March will be affected by the epidemic, and added:
“We follow the numbers day by day. Thanks to contactless trade, we have now reached 1140 trucks with Iraq, but our exports to Iraq have decreased by 50 percent, and Iran has decreased by 80 percent. There will be a decrease in terms of total foreign trade, we are working towards the least. With the measures we have taken, how much can we reduce this by working in parallel with our business world, we continue our studies in this direction. If our business world uses these routes, we are also ready to increase capacity. We take our own measures. We are ready to help them in every respect. ”
Minister Pekcan also reminded that the export target of 190 billion dollars for this year was “Our exports increased by an average of 4,31 percent in January-February period. Maybe this month will come down a little bit, hopefully we will be able to balance. This process will pass, and we will continue our studies in line with our goals, as we do not expect it to continue until the end of the year. ” said.
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