Turks spend 353.3 million liras on guns, bullets in last five years

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

A selection of pistols manufactured by Girsan, a Turkish gun manufacturer based in the northern province of Giresun, are seen in this photo. Turkish firms enjoy a strong domestic demand. DHA photo

Turks have spent roughly 353.5 million Turkish Liras on guns in the last five years, according to data from the Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKEK).

A total of 74,750 pistols, some 55,575 of which were manufactured domestically, and 164 million bullets have been sold since 2007. MKEK earned 103.2 million liras from locally manufactured pistols and 84.9 million liras from imported pistols. The revenue from bullet sales, meanwhile, was 161.5 million liras. MKEK also sold 612 rifles worth 3.9 million liras between 2007 and 2011.

Turks purchase an average of 15,000 pistols every year. The figure decreased to 13,838 in 2010, but the following year the sales recovered to 15,369.

MKEK’s income last year from locally manufactured pistol sales totaled 24.3 million Turkish Liras, while the income figure was 15.1 million liras for imported guns. Some 34.5 million bullets were sold last year, bringing 34.6 million liras into the coffers of MKEK, while the number of imported rifles was 169, worth a total of 933,000 liras.

The total income of MKEK from gun and bullet sales hit 74 million liras in 2011. MKEK sells varying models of pistols manufactured by 10 domestic and 15 foreign firms.