Govt plans $ 350 Mln assistance to exporters this year

State Minister for Foreign Trade Kursat Tuzmen said yesterday that the government would provide $350 million in government assistance to exporters this year. Stating that 2009 will be a tough year for exporters due to falling global demand and shrinking markets caused by the economic crisis, Tuzmen expressed his belief that Turkish exporters would overcome these difficulties to continue their upward trend of recent years. He said that nearly one-fifth of the assistance would be allocated for the research and development, adding that new assistance packages would be gradually announced later this year in addition to other government grants for exporters. Stressing that he is frequently meeting with exporters to learn about their problems, Tuzmen also said that he would pay an official visit to Egypt tomorrow with a large delegation of businesspeople, followed by a visit to Iran. In related news, Capital Markets Board (SPK) head Turan Erol said yesterday that the board would make an additional TL 500 million available for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a new arrangement on investment funds.