Turkey’s exports up 10.3 pct in first five months

ANTALYA - Anatolia News Agency

Economy Minister Çağlayan (L), TİM President Mehmet Büyükekşi and TİM Vice President Mustafa Çırıkçıoğlu oversee a meeting to reveal Turkey’s exports data. Courtesy of TİM

Turkey’s exports rose by 7.3 percent to $11.8 billion in May 2012 compared to the same month in 2011, according to figures announced by the Turkish Assembly of Exporters (TİM) on June 1. The exports figures for May 2012 were disclosed at a gathering in the southern province of Antalya, with the participation of Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan.

Turkish exports increased by 10.31 percent to $59.8 billion year-on-year in the first five months of 2012 and exceeded $140 billion over the past 12 months.

“The increase in exports in the first five months of the year proves that Turkey will easily be able to exceed its medium term 4 percent growth target,” said Çağlayan, speaking at a press conference after the data was announced. He added that last year Turkey exported 48 percent of its products to the European Union. In the first five months of the year, this percentage dropped to 41 percent, but Çağlayan stressed that even though exports to Turkey’s largest market had dropped, the country’s total exports still rose nearly 10.5 percent in the first five months of 2012. Çağlayan said that this was an indicator that all of Turkey’s efforts to branch out to other countries and diversity its markets had paid off.

Automotive sector
On a sector by sector basis, the automotive sector witnessed the greatest amount of exports at approximately $1.7 billion, but the tobacco sector registered the greatest jump in exports from a month earlier with a 116 percent increase.

The automotive sector accounts for 14 percent of Turkey’s total exports. There was 0.15 percent increase in automotive exports from May 2011.

The agricultural sector, meanwhile, witnessed a 12.34 percent increase from May 2011, totaling $1.6 billion and accounting for 13 percent of Turkey’s exports.

The industrial sector, which holds the greatest share of the pie in Turkey’s exports at 83 percent, also went up by 6.39 percent from a year earlier as did the mining sector, which also saw a 13 percent increase in its exports.

Turkey exported the most to Germany, Iraq and England in May. Exports to Germany amounted to $1.9 billion, $864 million to Iraq and $683 million to England.