Turkish exports rise for 10th consecutive month

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA

Turkey's exports increased by 11.9 percent on a yearly basis to climb $12.4 billion in August, Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) announced Friday.

"Exports in the first eight months of the current year increased by 10.7 percent to $102.5 billion, and the exports in the last 12 month increased by 7.8 percent to $151.8 billion," the association said.

"Since November 2016, our exports have been increasing steadily. We believe that we will reach $155 billion by the end of the year and meet our target," Mehmet Buyukeksi, TIM chairman, said in the statement.

Buyukeksi stated that the rise in the country's export has doubled the joy of Eid al-Adha.

"Despite the long Eid al-Adha holidays, Turkey's exports increased for the 10th month in a row," he said.

"We will see a positive contribution from net exports to the second quarter GDP growth,” the TIM chairman added.

The Turkish economy grew 5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, while the government had targeted a growth rate of 4.4 percent by the end of 2017.

Over the past three years, the country's economy expanded 5.2 percent in 2014, 6.1 percent in 2015 and 2.9 percent in 2016.

Turkey's exports hit historic peak of $157.6 billion in 2014, and stood at $143.8 billion in 2015 while the value was $142.5 billion last year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.

Germany remained the top export destinations for Turkey with $1.3 billion, which accounts for approximately 10 percent of the country’s exports in August, with an increase of 11.3 percent, TIM said.

The association noted that Iraq, United Kingdom, the U.S. and Spain followed Germany in the list, while shares of Turkey’s export to 28 EU member states were 47 percent in August with an amount of $5.9 billion.

TIM figures showed that the biggest rises in exports were recorded in trade with Russia (58.9 percent), China (43.1 percent) and the United Arab Emirates (35.1 percent), while 16 countries of Turkey's top 20 export destinations witnessed increase in export value.

In August, the automotive sector performed the best "as usual" with $1.8 billion export, followed by ready-made garments and apparel with $1.7 billion, and chemicals with $1.5 billion exports.