Last week from 24th to 26th October a delegation from the Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association was on a visit to the Baltic States. Representatives of 17 Turkish steel manufacturers participated in two B2B matchmaking events in Riga and Tallinn to individually meet with the leading market players from construction, metalworking and metal trade industries. The delegation also attended meetings with government agencies to learn more about the business culture and cooperation possibilities in the region.
More than 100 companies from all the three Baltic countries showed interest to meet with the producers from Turkey. 61 companies from Estonia and Latvia attended the B2B matchmaking event in Tallinn, and 55 companies from Latvia and Lithuania attended the event in Riga. The event in Tallinn hosted 283 individual meetings, and 337 individual meetings were organized between attendees in Riga. Members of the Turkish delegation and participants from the Baltic countries were satisfied with the event and are looking forward to starting cooperation in the nearest future.
Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association organized the trade mission to the Baltic region as a part of their strategy to expand to new markets. Although Latvia and Estonia are not big target markets for Turkish steel exporters, the political situation between Ukraine and Russia has increased the demand for Turkish steel in the region, said Adnan Aslan, chairman of the association. «Latvia and Estonia was ranked at 108 among our steel export markets,» Aslan noted. «However, in the first nine months of 2022, our exports to both countries surged significantly. Since then, Latvia has risen to #85 and Estonia has reached #48 in our export rankings. The share of Turkey in the Latvian market climbed from 1.8 to 4.1 percent, but in Estonia – from 2.9% to 9%. We aim to open new avenues of cooperation and further drive commerce between our countries with delegations like this.»
The B2B matchmaking events in Latvia and Estonia were organized by the leading export consultancy and market research company in the region Gateway&Partners. Gateway&Partners’ team lead by project managers Irbe Smite and Justine Cirule selected potential partners in the Baltic countries for the Turkish producers according to their client profiles, conducted communication with the selected companies by inviting them to the event, and coordinated the events in Riga and Tallinn. «We are always happy to cooperate with various local and foreign associations to improve international trade between the regions,» says I. Smite.
«The task is not easy, but it is doable and it always brings pleasure to assist companies in finding new partners from different countries,» adds J. Cirule.
Demand for Turkish steel is increasing in the Baltic countries
