UPDATE - Turkish exports hit $15.2B in September

UPDATE WITH MORE REMARKS FROM THE MINISTER

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's exports totaled $15.2 billion in September, surpassing last year's strong performance, the country’s trade minister said on Wednesday.

The country's imports saw an annual rise of 0.15% to hit nearly $17 billion last month, Ruhsar Pekcan told a news conference in Mersin, a Mediterranean coastal city in southern Turkey.

In September 2018, exports surged by 22.6% on a yearly basis to reach its highest-ever figure, $14.5 billion.

"Last month, the countries that we exported the most were Germany, Britain and Italy, respectively -- making 22.2% of Turkey's total exports -- while Russia, China and Germany ranked first in our imports -- accounting for 29.7% of total imports of the country," Pekcan said.

She noted that Turkish exporters managed to enter 214 different markets in the month.

In the first nine months of 2019, Turkey’s exports rose by 2.6% year-on-year to reach $132.5 billion, she said.

Pekcan underlined that the foreign trade gap in January-September plummeted 68.8% to $16.4 billion.

Exports-to-imports coverage ratio rose to 86.1% from January to September, up from 71.1% in the same period last year, she added.