Turkey becomes EU’s fifth-largest trade partner: Data

FRANKFURT - Anadolu Agency

Turkey became the European Union’s fifth largest trade partner in 2015, according to data released by Eurostat.

According to a new report, the EU exported goods worth 2.04 trillion euros ($2.27 trillion) in 2015, while total imports stood at 1.79 trillion euros. 

In 2015, Turkey’s exports to the EU rose to 79 billion euros from 75 billion euros, a six percent rise. Turkey’s imports from the EU surged to 61.6 billion euros, a rise of 13 percent.        

The advance in both export and import numbers push the Turkey-EU bilateral trade volume to 140.6 billion euros from 128.9 billion euros, up nine percent from a year earlier, making Turkey surpass Norway as the EU’s fifth top trade partner.        

Norway’s trade volume with the EU was down to 123.2 billion euros in 2015 from 135.3 billion euros a year earlier, declining nine percent. 

The U.S. retained the title of the EU’s top trade partner in 2015, with the bloc’s exports to the U.S. reaching 369.5 billion euros and imports at 246.2 billion euros. Both exports and imports to the U.S. rose by 19 percent.        

The EU’s second-largest trading partner was China in 2015. The EU’s exports to China were worth 170.4 billion euros, while imports were 350.3 billion euros. After China came Switzerland, Russia and Turkey.