UPDATE - Turkish exports up in first 2 months of 2018

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's exports in the first two months of 2018 rose 9.8 percent year-on-year to reach $25.6 billion, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced Friday.

The country's foreign trade volume totaled $66.1 billion between January and February this year, marking a 20 percent annual increase, according to provisional data provided by TurkStat and the Ministry of Customs and Trade.

Turkish imports climbed 28.8 percent to $40.5 billion, amounting to a foreign trade deficit of $14.8 billion over the same period.

The proportion of imports covered by exports was 63.3 percent in the period of January-February this year, while it was 74.3 percent during the same period of 2017.

TurkStat showed that Turkey's exports to the EU rose 23.4 percent year-on-year, to $13.4 billion during the same period.

Germany was the main recipient of Turkish exports with trade reaching some $2.7 billion from January to February. Italy with $1.60 billion, the U.K. with $1.59 billion and the U.S. with $886 million followed.

Turkish imports -- worth $4 billion -- mostly came from China. Imports from Russia amounted to $3.86 billion, from Germany $3.92 billion and from the U.S. $2 billion.

- Exports rose 9 percent in February

In the two-month period, manufacturing made up the most of Turkish exports, with a 93 percent share and a value worth $23.8 billion.

Agriculture and forestry exports ($1.02 billion) amounted to a 4 percent share and mining and quarrying exports, a 2.1 percent share, i.e. 542 million.

The share of medium-high technology products in manufacturing industries exports was 36.9 percent, followed by low tech industries (33.9 percent) and medium-low technologies (25.9 percent).

Official figures showed that the ratio of intermediate goods’ products in total imports was 76.7 percent and worth $31.02 billion.

In February, Turkey's exports rose 9 percent to $13.2 billion and imports climbed to $19 billion, up 19.7 percent, compared to same month in 2017.

Foreign trade deficit surged to $5.76 billion last month, marking a 54.2 percent increase compared with February 2017.

"In February 2018, exports coverage imports was 69.6 percent while it was 76.4 percent in February 2017," TurkStat said.

It also revealed that exports to its main market, the EU-28, increased by 23.8 percent year-on-year, to $6.84 billion, last month.

The proportion of the EU in Turkey's exports was 51.9 percent in February while it was 45.7 percent in the same month last year.