War could impact the Turkish economy: The first bill has been handed to the maritime sector!

Following the Russia-Ukraine war, the conflicts in the Gaza Strip pose a threat to our foreign trade. According to information received by the Turkish Shipowners' Association from the region, delays in operations have already begun at Israeli ports, and because Israel has established a security zone extending up to 80 km at sea, ships arriving in the country cannot approach the shore beyond this distance.

"FREIGHT RATES COULD INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY"

Speaking to Aysel Yücel from Ekonomim, Turkish Shipowners' Association Board Member Elif Uzuner stated that shipowners are in a 'wait-and-see' mode, saying, "In such war situations, business usually slows down in the early stages and waiting queues increase significantly. If the duration of the war extends, ports begin to operate again. Ships and the areas in the ports where ships unload cargo are generally not bombed, but this does not change the fact that the geography is a war zone. Therefore, the number of ships willing to go to the region will decrease. This signals that freight rates could increase significantly."

SYRIA AND LEBANON WILL ALSO BE AFFECTED

UTİKAD Maritime Working Group Chairman Cihan Özkal stated that the situation in the region could also affect ship traffic in Syria and Lebanon, adding the following:

"Haifa is an important transshipment port in Israel. There may be problems regarding the cargo coming here and the cargo leaving from here. This will affect not only Israeli ports but also ship traffic in Syria and Lebanon."

"CARGO DESTINED FOR PALESTINE WILL ALSO FACE DIFFICULTIES"

Mahmut Işık, General Manager of Medkon, one of Turkey's leading shipowning companies, provided information that they make approximately 140 calls to Israeli ports annually, and summarized the impact of the war on transport on this route as follows: "Currently, two of our ships are in Israeli ports. Israel is an important route not only for bilateral trade but also for cargo destined for Palestine. All transport to Palestine is carried out via Israel. We are hearing reports that ships going to the region will face very serious difficulties in docking. Port movement speeds are expected to slow down significantly. It has been reported that cargo destined for Palestine from here, in particular, will face major difficulties."

9 BILLION DOLLAR TRADE VOLUME

The total value of Turkey's foreign trade with Israel and Palestine is approaching 9 billion dollars. A large portion of this figure consists of exports to Israel. In 2022, approximately 6.8 billion dollars in exports were made from Turkey to Israel, while 2.1 billion dollars in imports were made from that country to Turkey. In the same period last year, exports from Turkey to Palestine amounted to 120.3 million dollars, while imports from that country were approximately 11 million dollars.

News Source: 12punto