EU’s share in Turkey’s exports hit 53 percent in February with sharp annual increase: Association

ISTANBUL

The share of Turkey’s main trade partner, the European Union, in the country’s exports saw a sharp increase in February, a leading sector association announced on March 1. 

The share of the bloc rose to 53 percent in the second month of the year with a 24.6 percent year-on-year increase, data from the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) showed.

Turkey’s exports jumped 14.8 percent to reach $12.9 billion in February, compared to the same month of 2017, the association announced.

The figure makes February 2018 the best-performing February for exports in Turkish history, it added.

Turkey made the largest amount of exports to Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and France, all of which saw a significant annual increase in volume.

The country’s exports to Germany rose 21.7 percent on an annual basis, to Italy by 27.7 percent, to the U.K. by 20.4 percent, the U.S. by 4 percent and to France by 19.1 percent.

Among Turkey’s top 20 export markets, the highest increase in export volume was seen in Belgium with a 70.5 percent year-on-year increase, according to TİM data.

The share of the EU in Turkey’s exports started to decline in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis as the growth rates in the bloc regressed.

While the share of the EU in Turkey’s exports was 56.3 percent in 2006, it decreased to 39 percent in 2012, according to official data.

The bloc’s share in Turkey’s exports rose to 47.1 percent last year, according to data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK).

Record high export target

Turkey’s exports surged 12.8 percent to $25.3 billion in the first two months of 2018 over the same period in 2017, TİM data also showed. 

The country’s 12-month exports reached $159.03 billion, up 11.1 percent from the previous time interval.

Turkey’s exports have been rising since December 2016, TİM President Mehmet Büyüekşi said in a statement.

“We hope that exports will continue to rise until the end of 2018,” he added.

TİM and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci declared that Turkey would break records by crossing the medium-term program’s (MTP) $169 billion target in 2018, he also stressed.

Büyükekşi also said the figures for the first two months support this goal.

Almost 22 percent of Turkey’s exports in February came from the automotive sector with $2.8 billion, up 25.7 percent compared to February 2017, according to the TİM data.

Automotive exports were followed by the clothing ($1.4 billion) and chemical products ($1.3 billion) sectors.

Istanbul was the Turkish city that exported the most in February with $5.3 billion, followed by prominent industrial centers Bursa ($1.3 billion) and Kocaeli ($1.2 billion). 

Turkey’s exports were $12.45 billion in January and $157.02 billion in 2017, according TÜİK data.

TİM data excludes gold exports.