In his statement, Çınar emphasized that a country’s destiny is determined not only by how much it exports, but by what it produces. He stated that production capacity and the quality of production are the main determinants of prosperity and external balance. “Production capacity and the nature of production are the fundamental determinants of welfare and external balance. At the point we have reached today, the decline in industry raises the question of whether Türkiye is losing its productive power.”
Çınar noted that following the pandemic and global crises, production has once again become a priority area. He pointed out that the Western world has placed industry back at the center of its agenda in line with goals of supply security and strategic autonomy. He stressed that production is no longer merely an economic activity, but also a matter of national security and competitiveness, adding that developed countries particularly the European Union are introducing new policies to protect and strengthen their industries.
Highlighting that one of Türkiye’s main structural problems is its dependence on foreign inputs in production, Çınar drew attention to the high share of intermediate goods imports. Referring to Central Bank data, he stated that approximately three-quarters of imports consist of intermediate goods. He explained that this structure creates a situation in which imports increase as production rises, thereby worsening the external balance. “The more Türkiye produces, the more dependent it becomes on foreign inputs. This situation brings the risk of working harder but earning less,” he said.
Çınar underlined that increasing the domestic value-added ratio rather than merely expanding production volume is critical. He argued that the production model must be redesigned to ensure sustainable growth. On a global scale, he noted, the winning model is not only about producing goods, but also about developing technology, setting standards, and establishing a strong supply ecosystem. He emphasized that Türkiye should shift from low-cost production to high value-added production.
Stating that Türkiye faces two options, Çınar said the country can either remain in a low and medium technology segment where margins are steadily shrinking, or move up to a higher league by redesigning production around technology, value addition, and domestic inputs. “An economy that moves away from production cannot generate sustainable prosperity. Türkiye’s lasting solution is production.”
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