Azernews.Az

By New Centre

The opening ceremony of the 31st Marble İzmir – International Natural Stone and Technologies Fair, organized by İZFAŞ, was held at Fuar İzmir.

The opening ceremony was attended by Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Abdullah Tancan, İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Cemil Tugay, Chairman of the All Marble, Natural Stone and Machinery Producers Association (TÜMMER) Hanifi Şimşek, AK Party İzmir Provincial Chairman Bilal Saygılı, as well as many sector representatives.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister Bolat said that Türkiye is one of the countries with the richest natural stone reserves in the world thanks to its geological structure. He emphasized that under the management and supervision of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, these resources must be extracted in an environmentally and socially responsible way and brought into the economy through production, while also generating new export markets and foreign currency income for the country.

Bolat stated that mining sector exports reached 6.4 billion dollars last year. He added that Türkiye accounted for 2.34% of the country’s total exports of 273.3 billion dollars. In the natural stone sector alone, exports reached 2.1 billion dollars.

He noted that Türkiye has become the third-largest natural stone exporter in the world after China and Italy. He also underlined that the world’s three largest natural stone, marble, and granite fairs are held in China, Italy, and Türkiye. He added that Türkiye and Italy cooperate by supporting each other’s fairs.

Bolat said that Türkiye accounts for 11.6% of global natural stone exports and has reached a 65% share in processed natural stone, marble, and granite exports. He expressed confidence that this figure could rise to 80–90%, stressing that achieving this requires technology and machinery investment. He added that Türkiye has advanced significantly in this area and improved its technological capacity.

Bolat stated that nearly 1,000 participating companies from more than 100 countries are attending this year’s Marble İzmir Fair. He said that 70,000 visitors are expected.

He noted that there are hot conflicts in Türkiye’s surrounding region and that the world is under significant strain, particularly in energy, food, petrochemicals, and chemicals. Despite this, he said, the Marble İzmir Fair continues to be held. He added that the Ministry has upgraded the fair to the “prestigious fair” category, increasing participation support from 50% to 70%.

Bolat also highlighted the importance of the Aegean Region in agricultural exports, stating that İzmir stands out with exports generated from its rich and fertile lands.

According to 2025 data, he said, İzmir recorded 22.5 billion dollars in exports and 12.9 billion dollars in imports. He noted that imports remained at 55% of exports, making İzmir a city that generates a foreign trade surplus.

He added that despite the war environment, İzmir contributed 5.3 billion dollars in exports and 3.1 billion dollars in imports in the first three months of the year.

Bolat further emphasized that the world is experiencing major shocks and that most armed conflicts are taking place in Türkiye’s region. He said that the current period reflects a global energy supply and price crisis that is even more severe than the 1973 oil crisis, the 1979 oil crisis, and the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2022.

He noted that many countries are facing supply problems in oil, natural gas, LNG, LPG, fertilizers, and petrochemicals. However, he said Türkiye has not experienced any supply crisis thanks to timely stockpiling by the government, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

He added that Türkiye has worked to protect citizens and production from global energy price volatility through the sliding-scale fuel tax system (“eşel mobil”). He said inflationary pressures have increased globally and were observed in March in the United States, Europe, and other countries.

Bolat stated that global trade growth may slow this year, with the World Trade Organization forecasting 1.9% growth. He added that a faster end to conflicts would allow a quicker recovery in global economic activity.

He also stressed the importance of the Strait of Hormuz, noting that 20–25% of global energy supplies pass through it. He said recent energy and price volatility has been influenced by tensions in the strait.

Bolat said Türkiye has maintained uninterrupted growth for the last 22 quarters, continuing since the second quarter of the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that the country has reached a national income of 1.6 trillion dollars, per capita income of 18,040 dollars, and goods and services exports of 396 billion dollars.

He added that the current account deficit was reduced to 1.9% of GDP last year, below historical averages and at a manageable level. He said Türkiye is among the fastest-growing economies in the G20 and OECD and is among the countries that have improved their current account balance the most in 2024 and 2025.

He also stated that the Ministry of Trade allocates 60% of its modest budget to supporting exporters. He said this amount was 33 billion lira last year and is expected to reach 45 billion lira this year.

Bolat added that Türkiye has ongoing UR-GE international competitiveness development projects. He said 740 projects have been implemented so far, 32 of which are in the mining sector, and 191 projects remain active, including 11 in mining.

He also referred to the Turquality program, describing it as a global branding initiative for Turkish products. He said the “Land of Stone” branding project for the marble and granite sector is also supported under Turquality.

He noted that last year 17 sectoral trade delegation programs were organized in the natural stone sector. In the first three months of this year alone, four trade delegations have already taken place. He added that support was provided for participation in 88 individual international stone fairs and five international exhibitions, and that two domestic natural stone fairs were included in the prestigious fair category and supported.

Deputy Energy Minister Abdullah Tancan said the fair has become a major global platform bringing together professionals from around the world. He noted that processed natural stone accounts for about 65% of export revenues to more than 170 countries and said Türkiye aims to increase this share through branding and stronger global positioning.

He added that Türkiye ranks among the top three countries in the global natural stone export market. He also said Türkiye has approximately 63 billion tons of natural stone resources, further strengthening its sectoral power.

İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban said the city is where international fair activities began in Türkiye. He noted that when natural stone and machinery exports are combined, the sector is approaching 3 billion dollars and could reach 10 billion dollars in the near future.

He added that until recently, the sector was heavily dependent on imported machinery, but today almost all machinery used is domestically produced. He also noted that machinery exports have reached nearly half a billion dollars.

Elban said the sector is increasingly becoming more environmentally conscious, stressing that no one is an enemy of nature, but all economic activity has some environmental impact. He emphasized the importance of minimizing this impact and properly communicating restoration efforts to reduce public pressure on the sector.

İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Cemil Tugay said the fair brings together nearly 1,000 participants from 41 provinces of Türkiye and 28 countries across a 150,000-square-meter area. He noted that Türkiye holds approximately one-third of the world’s natural stone reserves and has more than 120 types of marble, representing a unique natural wealth.

He stressed that this potential must be properly utilized, adding that Türkiye must focus on value-added production and branding.