Turkey's machinery exports reach $9.2 bln in 5 months

ISTANBUL-Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s machinery exports reached $9.2 billion in the first five months of this year, according to figures released by a sector association on June 13.

The sector's exports increased by 37 percent year-on-year in the January-May period, and 12 percent versus the same period in 2019, the Machinery Exporters’ Association said in a press release.

Turkey's machinery exports to the country's 10 main destinations in this field - such as Germany, the U.K., France and Poland - increased by 18 percent during the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2019.

Kutlu Karavelioğlu, the head of the association, said the global goods trade increased 18 percent in the first quarter and suddenly surpassed $5 trillion level in the last two quarters, adding that considering that global exports have not exceeded $18.5 trillion level annually for a long time, it is inevitable that this unexpected pace of improvement will have after-effects.

The main reason for the increase in value in the trade of goods is high orders, he stressed and noted global inflation, logistics problems and some raw materials which are on the black market or whose exports are restricted also fuel the price increase.

The concern that "the supply will not be enough" has quickly reflected in machinery and equipment investments, Karavelioğlu underlined.

He highlighted that the sector has been constantly receiving new machine orders.

The sector may revise its export target of $21 billion for 2021 after these positive figures, he added.

Touching on the EU's machinery imports, which has reached $360 billion during the pandemic, Karavelioğlu said Turkey's exports were $12 billion to the EU countries during this period but it is not enough.

"We aim to get a much thicker slice of this cake," he added.