Exports rise to $62 billion with 8.6 percent increase in may

The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) announced the export figures for May on Saturday during a general assembly in Istanbul, stating that exports had increased by 8.6 percent in May compared to the same month a year ago, bringing the total amount of exports in the first five months to $62.3 billion. TIM President Mehmet Buyukeksi, who announced the data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), said that exports in May were valued at $12.7 billion and totaled $156.7 billion for the last 12 months. May's exports had also increased by 4.4 percent compared to January. The biggest growth in exports in May was seen in the automotive sector, followed by the chemicals and the ready-to-wear garments sectors. The automotive sector had increased by 11.6 percent in May while the chemicals sector went up 6.2 percent and the ready-to-wear garments sector by 6.8 percent. According to the data, exports to the European Union had increased by 7 percent in May while exports to the Middle East and to Africa both grew by 8 percent. Exports to Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries had also increased by 12 percent. Germany was ranked the top destination for Turkish exports, despite a 0.2 percent decline, followed by Iraq, England, Russia and Italy. In addition, exports to Iraq were up by 14.9 percent and exports to Italy rose by 11.4 percent. The other countries mentioned in TİM's list were Libya, China, Algeria, Yemen, the Netherlands and Spain. The top 10 provinces with the largest amount of exports were Denizli, Gaziantep, Hatay, Adana, Izmir, Bursa, Istanbul, Kocaeli, Ankara and Manisa. Exports from Denizli and Gaziantep grew by 15 percent in May, followed by Hatay with a 13 percent increase, Adana with 12 percent, Izmir with 11 percent, Bursa with 9 percent, Istanbul with 7 percent and Kocaeli with 6 percent. Meanwhile, Ankara's exports declined by 4 percent in May, while Manisa's exports were down by 5 percent. During his speech, Buyukeksi noted that in the past 10 years, a total of $1 trillion in exports had been seen, underlining that exporters are targeting $3 trillion in exports in the next 10 years. He also pointed to the recent upgrades of Turkey's credit ratings by Fitch, Moody's and JCR and Turkey's repayment of its entire International Monetary Fund (IMF) debt as indicators of the country's success. At the assembly, the companies from 26 different sectors who were the top exporters in 2012 and were ranked in the top 10 were given awards. The companies include the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TUPRAS), Oyak Renault, Vestel, Tofas, Arcelik, Habas, Icdas, Kibar Holding and Toyota.