According to exporters, India’s merchandise exports of commodities including man-made yarn, cotton and textile dyes may be affected in the short term due to earthquake-hit Turkey.
Turkey witnessed two powerful earthquakes on 6th February 2023 which caused widespread damage to property and killed over 28,000 people while leaving millions homeless. The earthquakes also caused damage to the infrastructure and logistics network with the Port of Iskenderun remaining closed for around a week.
Ajay Sahai, Director General, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said that the extent of the damage in Turkey is not yet known and its impact on exports is difficult to ascertain.
He added, however, that the earthquake will cause further depreciation of the Turkish Lira, which has touched a record low following the earthquake and will make imports costlier and impact demand.
“Since the textile manufacturing centres of Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras provinces are worst-affected, our exports of cotton and man-made yarn and textile dyes may be impacted in the short run,” Sahai said.
“Trade may get impacted in the short-term only due to the earthquake there, but not in the long run. There was no news so far from the MSME segment exporters of any issue while exporting to Turkey,” said Hand Tools Association President, S C Ralhan.
Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a think tank, expects Indian exports to Turkey may be tough in February and March but from April onwards, these exports are likely to grow at a normal pace.
Currently, operations at the Port of Iskenderun, one of the two main container ports on Turkey’s southern coast, has remained suspended as it caught fire during the earthquake, said GTRI.
“Exports were halted, and most containers were diverted to nearby ports. Export dwell time rose to above ten days. It may take about a month for normal operations to resume. The earthquake has affected the functioning of the central Black Sea and Mediterranean ports. But, on the positive side, Turkey has a long coastline with more than 180 ports,” GTRI Co-founder Ajay Srivastava stated.
