ISTANBUL: Turkish exports in the first eight months of 2015 fell 8.9 percent year-on-year to hit $95.13 billion as the US dollar’s steep rise against the euro dealt a blow to Turkish sales, an exporters union announced in Düzce on Tuesday.
The euro has lost as much as 18.3 percent of its value against the US dollar over the first eight months of 2015, weakening the purchasing power of countries such as Turkey, paying in euros, Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) Chairman Mehmet Büyükekşi said at the press conference in Düzce. In August Turkey saw its exports also tumble to $10.48 billion, a 4.9 percent fall compared to a year ago, TİM said on Tuesday. It also said Turkey’s exports to the EU fell 8.9 percent year-on-year due to the euro’s slide. At the beginning of 2015, TİM had estimated the annual loss in sales to the EU market due to euro depreciation at $8.5 billion.
Turkey made exports worth $104.43 billion in the first eight months of 2014. Meanwhile, Turkey’s jewelry exports surged 25.6 percent in August compared to the same month of 2014, reaching $246.72 million. In the first eight months of this year, Turkey exported $1.81 billion in jewelry, a 24 percent year-on-year rise.
Although depreciation in the value of the Turkish lira versus the US dollar was expected to affect Turkish exports, the euro reverses Turkey’s gains from trade in dollars into a loss, Büyükekşi recalled. Turkey pays for 63 percent of its imported goods in US dollars and only 30 percent in euros. Turkey sees the shift in euro-dollar parity as having the strongest negative effect on its export performance. Turkish exporters believe a weaker euro will harm regional market competition amid difficulties in both pricing and profits. Around 45 percent of Turkish exports are paid in euros, and Turkish exporters pay the cost of intermediary goods mostly in US dollars.
Germany was the top buyer of Turkish goods in August at $1.11 billion, followed by the UK with $790 million, Iraq with $685 million, the US with $509 million and France with $463 million. Ready-to-wear garments capitalized the most on exports in August at $1.54 billion, and was followed by the automotive sector with $1.36 billion and chemicals with $1.19 billion.
Jordan was the country to have recorded the fastest increase in its purchases from Turkey, among the top 30 buyers of Turkish products, by 223 percent in August, when compared to August 2014.
Hatay, a province on the Syrian border, recorded a 13 percent increase in its exports in August compared to a year ago, becoming the fastest growing export province. Hatay’s neighboring province, Gaziantep, enjoyed a 12 percent surge in exports, while İstanbul decreased its overseas sales by 4 percent and Ankara and İzmir each by 8 percent.
