Turkey's annual exports reach $97.7 bln

Turkish exports increased by 32.3 percent in December 2009 and amounted to $9.5 billion, according to the Anatolia news agency. Exports in industry, which constituted 81.4 percent of the country’s total exports in December, rose 32 percent to reach $7.7 billion. Exports in mining, which constituted 3.2 percent of December's total exports, increased 97.5 percent to reach $305 million.

Meanwhile, Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan said he expected the official year-end export figure for 2009 to be $101.6 billion. That figure stands 23 percent below that of 2008, Çağlayan said at a news conference with the assembly in Ankara on Monday. December imports were probably about $138 billion, he said. The state statistics agency will announce official figures for December exports on Jan. 29.

“The pick-up in exports indicates that Turkey is rapidly emerging from the crisis,” Bloomberg cited Mehmet Büyükekşi, head of the exporters’ assembly, as saying. “We aim to maintain 30 percent increases in monthly exports from now on.”

Turkey exported the highest amount of goods to Germany in the month of December, followed by France, Britain, Italy, Iraq, Russia, the United States, Spain, Iran and China, according to TİM. Germany was at the top of the annual exports list as well. Germany was followed by Britain, Italy, France, Iraq, Russia, Spain, the United States, Iran and United Arab Emirates.

/Hurriyet Daily News/