Turkish free trade zones hard hit by global crisis
Turkey's 18 free trade zones have taken a beating from the global economic crisis as the country's export markets shrivel and, as a combination of both plummeting consumer confidence and a depreciation of the lira, make foreign imports even more costly for Turks. In total, trade from these zones is down by 43.7…
Egytex News Desk
Source: Today's Zaman
The only free trade zone that did not experience a loss in trade was the TUBITAK-MAM technology trade zone, where trade increased by 116.8 percent. The İstanbul leather free trade zone led the pack in terms of total trade volume, racking up a total figure of $823.8 million. The figure, nonetheless, represents a drop of about 49.5 percent.
The Samsun free trade zone experienced the greatest loss, with a total drop in trade of more than 99.5 percent. Other trade zones that experienced considerable drops in trade include the Aegean free trade zone, where trade decreased by 40.4 percent to $586.3 million, the Ataturk Airport Free Zone, which experienced a drop of 33.8 percent to $621.6 million, the Mersin free trade zone, where trade declined by almost 40 percent ($437.6 million) as well as the Trakya Free Zone, which saw a 51.7 percent decline ($256 million), and the Bursa free trade zone, which declined by 46.9 percent ($242.6 million). In the first quarter of 2009, these areas provided employment for 42,171 people -- down from 46,613 for the same period of 2008.
Source: Today's Zaman
From the Egytex news archive, first published on 4 May 2009. Figures and names are as reported at the time.
