Turkish exporters look to boost Qatar sales at Doha summit


Three exporters' unions from Turkey will attend the International Trade Exhibition for Construction Technology, Building Materials, Equipment and Environmental Technology to be held in Qatar.

According to a statement by the Istanbul Ferrous & Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters' Association (İDDMİB), the Turkish Construction Materials Sector Committee will take part in the event to be held in Doha from April 29 to May 1.

The Ankara Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters' Association (ADDMIB) will also be present during the exhibition with an info stand. Turkey will participate in the event with a total of 39 companies.

Serdar Urfalılar, the head of İDDMİB's Turkish Construction Materials Sector Committee, said Qatar's contracting sector has been quite active in the recent period, adding concurrently with the exhibition, a sectoral trade committee was organized under İDDMİB fair.

He added the trade delegation will be composed of 16 companies and that they will meet with leading buyers throughout the country. Recalling that Qatar has come forward with major projects in recent years, he said the infrastructure programs of the government will be the locomotive of economic activity in the future.

Urfalılar also underlined that the rise in oil prices is very important for Qatar's economy as growth in construction and other areas could accelerate with financial relief.

Pointing out that Qatar has allocated $25 billion for large projects, Urfalılar said there is great potential in the country's health care, education, transportation and infrastructure sectors. He added that Qatar invested $11 billion on metro, tram line, coastal roads and highway projects last year alone.

"In 2018, we reached $262 million in exports to Qatar as the building materials sector," he continued, citing construction irons, insulation cables, wooden bathroom-kitchen furniture and prefabricated buildings among the top product groups exported last year. Urfalılar said they had a good start in 2019, achieving an export figure of around $33 million in January.

Meanwhile, Turkish contractors undertook projects worth $2 billion in the Gulf country last year. Furthermore, they have undertaken 137 projects in Qatar to date, totaling $14.8 billion.