Türkiye is Malaysia’s third-biggest trading partner in the Middle East, with total trade between the two countries recorded at RM16.97 billion in 2021. Türkiye offers many trade and investment opportunities for Malaysian businesses, especially sectors like agrofood, palm oil and palm-based products, automotive, machinery and electrical equipment, aerospace and defence, energy and infrastructure.

Businesses who export to Türkiye are given free access to 996 million consumers, which incudes 85 million consumers in Türkiye, 448 million in EU and 463 million in FTA area. Türkiye has direct access to the EU market due to their customs union with the EU. They also have Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with 28 countries.

Malaysia is among one of the 28 countries that has an FTA with Türkiye. Malaysia and Türkiye established the Malaysia-Türkiye Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA) on April 2014, which was implemented on August 1, 2015. Under the agreement, Malaysia and Turkey will reduce or eliminate tariffs on a substantial number of products. Complete duty-free imports were expected to be implemented by January 2023.

Türkiye also offers protection to businesses and has ranked high on the ease of doing business index. Türkiye has treaties to allow businesses to avoid double taxation with 87 countries and bilateral investment protection treaties with 86 countries. Additionally, they offer protection of international investors by FDA law.

Malaysian businesses who are interested in exporting to Turkey may reach out to MATRADE for enquiries and assistance. MATRADE’s services includes export promotion, exporters development, trade and market intelligence and trade advisory. 

For more enquiries, please contact:

MATRADE Istanbul
E: istanbul@matrade.gov.my
T: +90 212 217 8003

Sources
FMM Webinar (FMM Doing Business With The World Webinar: Focus on Türkiye)