Turkey only EU ally to raise exports to bloc

BRUSSELS - Anadolu Agency

Turkey was the only partner of the EU to increase exports to the bloc in 2013. REUTERS photo

Turkey is the only country that increased exports to the European Union last year among the bloc’s largest trading partners, according to the EU’s statistical authority.

Turkish exports to the EU rose 4 percent, reaching 50.2 billion euros, while imports from the union to Turkey soared to 77.7 billion euros, a 3 percent increase, according to a report released on Eurostat’s website.

EU countries increased their overall exports to 1.75 trillion euros, good for a 3 percent increase, while overall imports shrank to 683 billion euros, reflecting a 6 percent decline, it said.

Turkey remained the EU’s sixth-biggest trading partner in 2013 with a total trade volume of 128 billion euros. Among the EU’s 10 biggest trading partners, the exports of China, Russia and the United States shrank by 4, 4 and 5 percent, respectively. Other EU trading partners such as Switzerland, Norway, Japan, India, South Korea and Brazil recorded considerable falls in exports to the EU in 2013.