Strong cooperation between Turkey and China in the marble sector resulted in Turkish exporters selling 5 million tons of marble blocks to China last year, China’s Ambassador to Ankara Deng Li said, projecting that this year’s figures would be even higher. World-famous Afyon marble produced in the central Turkey is exported to 120 countries including China, India, the U.S., Iraq, France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. According to the Afyonkarahisar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ATSO), the province exported $109.25 million worth of marble in 2018, while $113.75 million has been exported so far this year.
Indicating that 50% of marble exported by Turkey heads to the Chinese market, Deng Li said that this leads to stable, long-term trade relations between the two countries. Since 5 million tons of Turkish marble went to China last year, the ambassador said : “Considering the growth rate of China’s gross domestic product, if our market growth rate rises very steadily, then our need for Turkish marble will increase proportionally.” Turkey-China Business Development and Support Association Chairman İhsan Beşer said that they individually address each export item Turkey exports to China.
Highlighting that they will not face problems this year like they did at last year’s fair in Shanghai, Beşer noted that, as a result of their efforts to increase marble exports to China, as in other parts of the world, China will start purchasing significant amounts of marble as of October. According to Beşer, in an attempt to introduce Afyon marble to China in all aspects, they invited Ambassador Deng Li, Chinese Undersecretary of Economy and Trade Liu Yuhua and some businesspeople to the city and guided them around marble manufacturing enterprises.
Source: dailysabah.com
