Gvt support for fairs reaches 104.6 million TL in 2011, says Economy Minister Caglayan

ANKARA (A.A) - March 4, 2012 - Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said that the Turkish government's support for fairs went up 44 percent in 2011 when compared to the previous year and reached 104.6 million Turkish liras. Caglayan said that they looked at fairs as opportunities to enter new markets, promote new products and strengthen presence in various markets. In 2011, we gave financial support to 10,138 applications for participation in fairs in all corners of the world, Caglayan noted. Raising the government support for fairs to 50,000 USD and removing the restriction on the size of booths led to an increase in participating in prestigious fairs, Caglayan said. In 2011, we supported participation in 226 fairs across the globe, Caglayan said. Turkish companies attended 24 fairs in Iran, 17 in Iraq, 17 in China, 16 in Russia, 15 in the UAE, 14 in Germany, 10 in Saudi Arabia, 7 in Italy, 6 in Brazil and the U.S., and 5 in Egypt and Algeria in 2011, Caglayan added.