Turkey's machinery exports in Jan-Aug top $10B

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey made $10.4 billion worth of machinery exports in the first eight months of 2020, down 10.6% on a yearly basis, a sector association said on Tuesday.

Turkey was among the countries that managed the novel coronavirus pandemic best in the world, with the global machinery trade narrowing by 19% in the first half, said Kutlu Karavelioglu, the head of the Machinery Exporters' Association.

"By the end of the year, the losses in the world machinery trade will reach $500 billion as the market has shrunken significantly. But, the Turkish machinery sector will keep its losses at the minimum level," he noted.

In August, Turkey's machinery sector made exports of $1.3 billion, he added.

Its main export destinations' -- Germany, the US, the UK, Italy and France -- export volume narrowed by 19% and imports by 16%, he noted.

In the first eight months of this year, Turkey's overall exports were $102.5 billion, down 12.8% versus the same period last year.

The coronavirus pandemic, which originated in China last December, infected nearly 29.3 million people and killed over 928,500 people the world over, while more than 19.8 million have recovered, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Due to the pandemic, several sectors, such as tourism and manufacturing, have been facing problems due to massive lockdowns to stem the spread of the virus.