Exports Break Record With 5.2 Pct Increase In August

Turkish exports rose 5.2 percent year-on-year last month, reaching the $11 billion mark and breaking a republic record, according to Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) figures released on Monday.

For the first eight months of 2014, exports increased 5.3 percent in comparison with the same period of 2013, totaling $104.6 billion. According to TİM President Mehmet Büyükekşi -- who announced the August figures on Monday -- export levels with Iraq are returning to normal after declining significantly in July. While exports to Iraq did drop 27 percent last month year-on-year, the decline was not as severe as the 46 percent drop sustained in July.

Büyükekşi also urged the re-opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, which has been closed since the early 1990s after a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan led to Turkey siding with the latter. “Trade should occur first between neighbors. In a region where the border gates are closed, production and exports remain weak. We hope that the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan ends, that an agreement can be reached and that the Armenian border gate can be reopened,” he said.

Büyükekşi was speaking in Ağrı, an impoverished province located in close proximity to the Armenian border. The local economies of areas on both sides of the border have been negatively impacted by the closure.

While exports to Russia and Iraq declined, they increased to Germany, the UK, the US, Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Agricultural exports increased 14.4 percent year-on-year last month, totaling $1.6 billion. Herbal product exports climbed 17.3 percent, while animal products rose 17.5 percent and wood and forestry products increased by 4.9 percent. Industrial exports rose 4.2 percent overall last month, surpassing the $9.07 billion mark. Chemical products saw a slight increase while mining sector exports dropped 4.2 percent.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)