Caglayan: "We will continue to make our gold exports"

Speaking at a meeting in which Turkey's imports were evaluated, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said on Thursday that Turkey would not be swayed by the sanctions pressure to halt gold exports to Iran, but Tehran's demand for the metal may fall this year. "We will continue to make our gold exports this year to whoever seeks them. We have no restrictions and are not bound by restrictions imposed by others," Caglayan said. Stating that Istanbul accounts for 50% of Turkey's imports with $119.6 billion, Caglayan said, "What's more striking is that the amount of Istanbul's import is higher than that of Saudi Arabia which amounts to $113 billion. Istanbul's import is also higher than that of 15 EU countries. Caglayan added that the energy constituted the largest import item of Turkey in 2012 with $60.1 billion with an increase by 11 percent, compared to 2011.