Turkey's exports up 14.8 percent in February

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA

Turkey's exports jumped 14.8 percent to reach $12.9 billion in February, compared to the same month of 2017, the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) announced Thursday.

The figure makes February 2018 the best-performing February for exports in Turkish history, TIM said.

Turkey's exports surged 12.8 percent to $25.3 billion in the first two months of 2018 over the same period in 2017.

The country's 12-month exports reached $159.03 billion, up 11.1 percent from the previous time interval.

Turkey's exports have been rising since December 2016, Mehmet Buyukeksi, head of the exporters’ assembly, said in a statement.

He added: "We hope that exports will continue to rise until the end of 2018."

TIM and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci declared that Turkey would break records by crossing the medium-term program’s (MTP) $169 billion target in 2018, he stressed.

He also said figures for the first two months support this goal.

Auto, clothing, chemical sectors

Fully 22 percent of Turkey's exports this February came from the automotive sector with $2.8 billion, up 25.7 percent compared to February 2017, he stated.

Auto sector exports were followed by the clothing ($1.4 billion) and chemical products ($1.3 billion) sectors, he added.

Turkey's exports to Germany, Italy and Britain, Turkey's top trading partners, rose 21.7 percent, 27.7 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively, year-on-year in February, he said.

He underlined that over the month, Turkey's exports to European Union countries also surged 24.6 percent, while its exports to Africa jumped 16.7 percent year-on-year.

He said in February, 53 percent of Turkey's exports went to the EU.

The country's exports also rose by 1.5 percent in terms of quantity in February, he said, adding:

"In terms of value, Turkey's exports rose 14.8 percent, in other words, we exported the same goods at a higher price. Research and development, innovation, and design work were reflected in our exports."

Istanbul was the Turkish city that exported the most in February with $5.3 billion, followed by prominent industrial centers Bursa ($1.3 billion) and Kocaeli ($1.2 billion), he said.

Turkey's exports were $12.45 billion in January and $157.02 billion in 2017, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).