Turkey: Machinery exports reach $2.7B in first 2 months

ISTANBUL

Turkey's machinery exports rose to $2.7 billion in the first two months of 2019, an exporters' association said Thursday.

The sector's exports soared 8.1 percent in the two-month period versus the same period in 2018, the Machinery Exporters' Association (MAIB) said in a press release.

The machinery sector's share of Turkey's exports to the U.S. reached over 15 percent, the press release read.

The sector's exports to the U.S., U.K., France and Spain jumped over 20 percent in January-February versus the same period last year.

Kutlu Karavelioglu, head of the association, said machinery exports are rising in line with targets.

"This March we will welcome 75 firms from 23 countries with two exhibitions," he added.

Turkey's machinery exports were $17.1 billion in 2018, while the export-to-import ratio in the machinery sector was 64 percent.

Overall Turkey earned $168.02 billion from exports in 2018, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.