Turkish economy to grow 3 percent this year: Deputy PM

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

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The Turkish economy is expected to grow only 3 percent this year, a reduction from the government’s target of 4 percent growth, Deputy Prime Minister Cevdet Yılmaz told Anadolu Agency on Sept. 11.

The target set by the government’s Medium-Term Economic Program may be cut by 1 percentage point due to volatility in global markets and political uncertainty ahead of snap-elections, Yılmaz said, in an interview at the Anadolu Agency Editorial Desk.

“Indicators showed that Turkey grew 3.1 percent in the first six months of the year. I can say that annual growth at the end of the year may reach 3 percent. But, to give an exact number, we should expect the announcement of the revised Medium-Term Economic Program,” Yılmaz said.
 
“And in such a challenging global economy, growing 3 percent is a significant success,” he added.

In the second quarter of 2015, Turkey was the third fastest-growing country in Europe with 3.8 percent growth year-on-year after Malta and the Czech Republic, according to figures from Eurostat and the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK). 

Yılmaz pointed out that despite global volatility, uncertainty in world markets, geopolitical risk around Turkey and recent terrorist activities within its borders, Turkey managed to show economic resilience.

“Our second quarter growth rate was 3.8 percent. The rate for the first half was 3.1 percent. When you take into account all [negative] factors, this is not a performance to look down on. Despite volatility in financial markets, the real economy proceeds on its way,” he said.

Regarding the high current account deficit, which is one of the Turkish economy’s most persistent problems, Yılmaz said Turkey had a current account deficit near 10 percent of the GDP just a few years back, but it has now been cut to 5.5 percent of the GDP.

“This year we expect the current account deficit to come down below $40 billion. But we will assess this target once more in our new Medium-Term Program,” Yılmaz said.