The market of izmir: the next goal for outward-looking enterprises of northern greece

Following arrangements made by FING, a business delegation made up of forty of FING’s members/enterprises visited Izmir from 26 to 29 September. This delegation visit took place within the framework of the actions being implemented by FING for the development of an “Innovation Pole” in the Region of Central Makedonia.

Izmir has a strong business community consisting of many capable businessmen who are making efforts to open up new markets and who make the best of any business opportunities that come their way. They especially wish to co-operate with us Greeks, and thus to open up new possibilities for co-operation between the two countries.

One of the occurrences that led to our good impression of the business world in that particular area was the announcement made by our Turkish colleagues on the first day of our business delegation to Izmir of the goal they have set with regard to the volume of bilateral trade between Greece and Turkey. The current trade volume between the two countries amounts to three (3) billion dollars. Our neighbours aspire to increase this volume within the next 3-5 years to five (5) billion dollars.

This dynamism is what drives us to open up channels of communication and to co-operate with the local business community in order to develop joint business schemes. Furthermore, there are two additional reasons leading us to Izmir and not to another port or city in Turkey: firstly Izmir’s size, and secondly its production infrastructure.
Besides, we have already developed partnerships with Istanbul, however its size and the permanent interest of all businessmen – Greek and foreign – in Istanbul have led us to open up a new market in our neighbouring country, which is none other than Izmir. Let us not forget that Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey and the second largest port after that of Istanbul.

In addition, its proximity with the islands of the East Aegean and its production infrastructure, which is very similar to ours in Northern Greece, have led us to the development of business partnerships in Izmir. Especially with regard to the issue of the region’s production infrastructure, I wish to point out the following: it is certain that Greek enterprises cannot be competitive – in terms of cost – in products that are considered as “basic” irrespective of their specific sector due to the cheap labour, and by extension the low cost of production, that our Turkish peers enjoy. However, our enterprises can provide Turkish enterprises with know-how for the production of high-added-value products, which are currently practically unknown to our neighbours, and especially in the region of Izmir. Besides, this was the context of the partnerships that arose from our business delegation.

Of course, there are obstacles on the way to opening up a market in Izmir. The main obstacle is the difficulty of access between the two markets. The distance between Thessaloniki and Izmir is only fifty minutes by plane. However, there are currently no direct flights between the two cities, and in order for one to reach Izmir, he must spend half a day travelling from Athens and Istanbul, and then on to Izmir. If we solve this matter, then I believe that we will have taken an important step towards bringing these two business communities closer.

Lastly, I wish to assure all colleagues that the region of Izmir has remarkable development prospects. This is why I urge them to directly explore the business opportunities in the region, since I believe that they are of direct concern to us and can give us yet another chance to prove our capability of developing outward-looking activities.