ISTANBUL, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's metallurgical (ferrous and non-ferrous metals) industry is transforming its export transactions into "new generation export activities" in 2021 to better cope with the changing conditions of the global world, according to a sector association.
"After facing with various adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, our industry representatives decided to make trading more resistant to external influences," Tahsin Oztiryaki, chairman of the Istanbul Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters Association, told Xinhua on Thursday.
The association is the roof union of nine sub-sectors, including aluminum, copper, kitchenware, industrial kitchen, building materials, metal hardware, molding, welding materials, and metal packaging.
In Oztiryaki's view, digital marketing, virtual trade teams, and virtual fairs and conferences started to direct the trade activities during the pandemic era.
To be able to operate under the challenging conditions of the pandemic, he said the industry recently created a new project called Trade 365 to carry out export transactions with foreign buyers uninterrupted on an online platform.
"We also successfully established virtual teams to conduct all the trading activities online," Oztiryaki said, noting that in the upcoming period, the sector will focus more on raising fully equipped trade ambassadors to be operational in the international arena by using digital platforms.
"Creating new attraction centers" and "enhancing green awareness" are also among the targets of the sector this year, according to the chairman.
In 2020, the industry recorded a 1.5 percent increase in exports despite the pandemic, according to the association. The sector completed last year with an export figure of 8.4 billion U.S. dollars.
"With the spread of the vaccination activities against the coronavirus, we plan to return to our physical and social work-life rapidly and also continue proceeding with our virtual activities at full speed," Oztiryaki added. Enditem
