INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF THE TURKISH MINING SECTOR: A WORLDWIDE AND BRICS COUNTRIES COMPARISON

Abstract

It is irrefutable that the mining sector, which has played an essential role in the development of civilizations throughout history and has been one of the vital elements of the Industrial Revolution, made outstanding contributions to shaping humanity in the last two centuries. The demand for mining assets, which have particular importance due to the inputs they provide to the manufacturing industry, is increasing day by day, and this increases their value even more. In addition to its high added value and employment creation capacity, the mining sector significantly contributes to the national economy as a unique sector that accelerates regional development. Due to the importance of the mining sector in the Turkish economy, its employment creation, and its export share, the competitive dynamics and performance persistence have received considerable scholarly attention. The study's main aim is to investigate the competitiveness of the Turkish and BRICS countries' mining industries in international markets. Accordingly, using the annual import and export data between 2017 and 2022, indices of the Disclosed Comparative Advantage Index (RCA), Relative Export Advantage Index (RXA), Relative Import Advantage Index (RMA), Relative Trade Advantage Index (RTA), Export Specialization Index (ES), Export Similarity Index (XS), Relative Competitive Advantage Index (RC) and Grubel-Lloyd Index (GLI) were calculated, and the sector competitiveness was evaluated. The results reveal a consistent low competitive advantage globally and specifically compared to BRICS countries. While there have been occasional improvements, Turkish mining sector faces disadvantages in exports, imports, and overall trade compared to both the world and BRICS countries.