ANKARA: Turkish exports have increased by 4 percent year-on-year to reach almost $11.9 billion in April on the backs of the steel, automotive, mining and jewelry sectors, the country’s main exporters’ association announced. The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) revealed yesterday that total exports in the first four months of the year have also surged by 6.7 percent from the same period last year. The association also revealed that Turkey’s value of total exports in the last 12 months rose by some 4 percent to reach almost $145.7 billion when compared to the previous 12 months. In April the highest increase among all sectors was observed in steel exports with a $326-million rise, according to the TİM statement.
Among other sectors, which also saw an increase in April, were the automotive sector with a $253-million hike, followed by the mining and jewelry sectors’ increases of $112 million and $100 million respectively. Agricultural exports, however, decreased by 1.3 percent in April while exports in the ready-made-textile sector experienced a 1.1 percent drop. In the first four months of the year, the automotive sector registered the highest exports, a nearly $1.7 billion increase compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, exports to the EU, Turkey’s main trading partner, rose by 3.2 percent in April. They had increased by some $2.1 billion in the first four months of the year compared to same period last year.
Turkish exports to its second-biggest trading partner, North America, also surged by 28.7 percent last month when compared to April 2016. The most remarkable increases were observed in Turkish exports to Malta (351 percent), the United Arab Emirates (99 percent) and Canada (50 percent), TİM said. In April, exports to Russia also rose by 5.4 percent year-on-year, which constituted a 30 percent increase between January and April this year.
