Turkish exporters hope to break records in 2018: Association

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

Turkey will break previous export records by crossing the medium-term program’s $169 billion target in 2018, the country’s largest exporters’ association said Dec. 24.

Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) chair Mehmet Büyükekşi said they prepared a roadmap to exceed the targets.

“The support from the government and the recovery of the global economy was reflected on our exports,” he said.

He added that the government’s export target for 2017 was $153.3 billion and it had been revised to $156.5 billion.

“We expect that Turkey’s exports will rise over 10 percent to $14 billion in December and we will overtake this target by reaching $157.3 billion,” he said.

Turkey’s exports amounted to $13.6 billion in November and $142.7 billion in the first 11 months of 2017, according to TİM’s data.

Early November, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci had said the country is expected to exceed its revised export target of $156.5 billion by the end of 2017.

He expressed that exports reflect Turkey’s growth, calling on international ratings bureaus to revise Turkey’s growth estimate figures.