The FINANCIAL — Despite Turkey's attempts to diversify its export markets to stem the negative effects of the global economic crisis, European countries, traditionally Turkey's best customers, continued to play the greatest role in Turkey's foreign trade amid negligible decreases.
"Although European demand for Turkish products decreased, Europe still accounted for 57.4 percent of Turkey's total exports in the January-November period in 2009. The European Union possessed a 46.1 percent share in Turkey's exports and 40 percent share in its imports. The share of all European countries in Turkey's total imports was 58.7 percent," Today's Zaman informs.
According to foreign trade figures from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), the countries of the 27-member EU were responsible for $42.5 billion of Turkey’s $92.1 billion in revenue from sales abroad in the first 11 months of 2009. Adding in $10.3 billion from European countries outside the EU, Europe accounts for 57.3 percent of Turkey’s export revenue.
Exports to African countries totaled $9.3 billion in the given period, in addition to $4.3 billion to the Americas and $23.1 billion to Asia. Turkey’s trade revenue with free trade zones totaled $1.8 billion.
In the 11 months from January to November last year, Turkish companies spent $125.6 billion on externally manufactured goods. Some $50.3 billion of this went to producers in the EU. Another $23.4 billion went to other European countries.
A total of $5.2 billion worth of goods were purchased from Africa, and $8.5 billion from the Americas. Asia reaped a total sum of $34.3 billion from trade with Turkish firms.
Germany was again number one in Turkey’s export market, with $8.9 billion in sales despite a contraction of 26.9 percent over the same period of the previous year. Exports to the French market also declined — at a more moderate rate of 11.2 percent — and amounted to $5.6 billion.
Turkish exporters earned 28.4 percent less from their sales to Italians, just $5.3 billion. The contraction was harsher in trade with Britain, declining by 32.2 percent to $5.2 billion.
The highest increase in Turkey’s exports was seen in its trade with Egypt. Revenue from sales to this country grew 91.7 percent to $2.4 billion in the January-November period. Revenue from exports to Iraq also saw an increase of 33.2 percent to $4.6 billion. Trade with Russia, which had climbed in recent years, saw a 53 percent decrease in the first 11 months of 2009, to $2.8 billion. The United Arab Emirates also spent 67.3 percent less on goods made in Turkey during that period, spending $2.5 billion in total.
In Turkey’s imports, Russia topped the list again with $17.6 billion in spite of a contraction of 39.7 percent over the same period the previous year. Germany ranked second with $12.4 billion.
China also preserved its place in third with $11.2 billion in exports to Turkey after a 23.7 percent fall in sales. The US enjoyed no increase in its standing in sales to Turkey, taking in $7.7 billion to remain fourth on Turkey’s import list after earning 31.3 percent less compared to the same period of the previous year. Italy sold $6.7 billion worth of goods to Turkey (a 34.7 percent drop), France $6.3 billion (26.1 percent drop), Spain $3.3 billion (21.2 percent drop), Iran $3.1 billion (60.2 percent drop), Britain $3 billion (39.1 percent drop) and Ukraine $2.8 billion (51.3 percent drop).
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