As the 'boycott Turkey' movement picks up in India, with retailers and Indian tourists jumping on the bandwagon, the development has garnered the attention of the world media. However, with the boycott movement gaining pace, Turkish experts have come forward to claim that India would suffer more if Turkey decided to reciprocate the move.
Indians decided to boycott Turkey after its President, Tayyip Erdogan expressed public solidarity with Pakistan in the conflict with India. Turkish UAVs were also used by Pakistan against India.
However, conservative Turkish media, quoting both named and unnamed experts, are claiming that India would suffer if Turkey decides to reciprocate the boycott movement. Turkish experts claim the country exported only $1.3 billion to India while importing $6.4 billion from India. This means that Turkey has a foreign trade deficit of approximately $5 billion with India.
However, Indian data says imports from Turkey were valued at $2.7 billion last year, mostly mineral fuels and precious metals. Apparel imports alone totalled $81 million, Reuters quoted Trading Economics.
Turkish conservative Islamic newspaper Yeni Akit quoted trade experts who claim that many of the products the country imports from India can be substituted with domestic production or easily procured from alternative markets. "If we sell one, we buy six from India. If we reciprocate, it is not us who suffers, but India," the newspaper quoted an exporter.
Turkish exporters' associations do not think that the boycott calls will have a serious impact on exports, reported Yeni Şafak, a newspaer known for its hardline support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It has a very close relationship with the Turkish government.
It added that the traders believe that only 0.5% of Turkey's total exports are made to India. "In other words, a very small portion of the total exports of $261.9 billion goes to this country," they claimed, adding that the possible export losses can be quickly compensated from alternative markets. However, there is no mention of what the alternatives were.
About tourism, visa processing platform Atlys has reported a 42% drop in visa applications to Turkey and Azerbaijan. While Turkish media acknowledge that there were cancellations, they claim that the loss is limited and couldn't reach more than 330,000 visitors. The newspapers quoted representatives of the Turkish tourism sector who claimed that the situation only caused a "loss on a macro scale."
It said the total number of tourists visiting Türkiye in 2024 was 62.2 million, and Indians amounted to just 0.5% of the total number of tourists.