Turkish exporters have made a promising start to the year with the Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) on February 1 reporting a robust 15% y/y increase in exports to $10.5bn in January.
Turkey’s exports fell by 0.9% to $142.6bn last year despite the country’s struggling currency losing 17% of its value, a depreciation that might have been expected to give a boost to sales on international markets.
The government expects exports to move up to $153bn this year. The lira has fallen 7% against the dollar since the start of 2017.
The 15% increase registered in January is the sharpest rise seen over the past 49 months, said the head of TIM, Mehmet Buyukeksi.
Exports to the European Union during the month rose by 12.8% y/y to $5.25bn, according to TIM data. The bloc was the largest market for Turkish goods in January, absorbing a 49.9% share in total exports. More importantly, merchandise shipments to Russia, which fell nearly 52% last year as a result of sanctions, jumped 57% y/y to $150mn in the month.
The automotive industry’s exports amounted to $2.07bn, marking a 36.8% y/y rise, while ready wear & confection exports declined by 4.9%% y/y to $1.25bn in January, TIM figures showed. Steel exports were up 8.1% y/y to $854mn and the mining sector saw a 39.2% y/y rise in its exports to $329mn.
| Turkish Exports | ||||
| (USD thousand) | Jan-16 | Jan-17 | y/y, % | share, % |
| AGRICULTURE | 1,452,230 | 1,661,216 | 14.4 | 15.8 |
| INDUSTRY | 7,469,192 | 8,538,111 | 14.3 | 81.1 |
| Ready wear & confection | 1,317,727 | 1,253,007 | -4.9 | 11.9 |
| Automotive | 1,512,312 | 2,069,424 | 36.8 | 19.7 |
| Steel | 626,932 | 853,780 | 36.2 | 8.1 |
| MINING | 236,205 | 328,720 | 39.2 | 3.1 |
| Overall Exports | 9,157,627 | 10,528,047 | 15.0 | 100.0 |
| source: tim | ||||
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