Exports Reached USD 20.9 Billion in June

Turkey Exports USD 20.9 Billion in June Turkey achieved USD 20.9 billion in exports during June. First-half exports totaled USD 123.4 billion. Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) Chairman Mustafa Gültepe recalled that they set a daily export record of USD 2.121 billion on 23 June. Despite the record export on 23 June, Gültepe stated that the loss of working days due to the Eid al-Adha holiday negatively impacted June exports, and continued as follows: "According to General Trade System (GTS) records, we concluded June with USD 20.9 billion in exports. We are down 10.5 percent compared to the same month last year. We closed the first half of 2023 down 1.8 percent compared to the same period last year. Our exports over the last 12 months reached USD 251.9 billion. Last month, the automotive sector provided the highest contribution to our exports at USD 3 billion. The other leading sectors among the top five were chemicals with USD 2.4 billion, ready-to-wear with USD 1.7 billion, electrical electronics and steel each with USD 1.3 billion. Last month, we recorded notable increases in our olive and olive oil, ship and yacht sectors' exports. While 17 provinces increased their exports, the top five exporting provinces were Istanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa, Izmir and Ankara. In June, 1,418 companies conducted exports for the first time. Our unit export value increased to USD 1.46, up 4 percent compared to the same month last year. Exchange rates provided positive effects on our exports in June, as in the previous two months. In June, exchange rate effects provided an additional value of USD 279 million. However, when evaluating the first six months, we still have a loss of USD 367 million due to exchange rates. The countries from which we exported the most in June were, in order, Germany with USD 1.8 billion, the United States with USD 1.3 billion, the United Kingdom and Italy each with USD 1 billion, and Iraq with USD 987 million." [caption id="attachment_154677" align="aligncenter"] Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) Chairman Mustafa Gültepe[/caption] Mustafa Gültepe recalled that on 17 June they held the TİM General Assembly and the 'First 1000 Exporters' awards ceremony with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Stating that exporters had the opportunity to convey their demands directly to President Erdoğan at the ceremony, Gültepe concluded his remarks as follows: "Our request to increase and continue minimum wage support was answered. The minimum wage support scheme will continue until year-end. On the other hand, we view the level reached by the exchange rate as a positive development in terms of our competitiveness. Our hand is much stronger in price-setting compared to a month ago. The Central Bank raised the policy rate by 6.5 percentage points to 15 percent, marking its first rate increase in 27 months. We view the gradual implementation of monetary tightening positively as the export community. We continue our path with solid steps. We are working with all our might to achieve our USD 265 billion target. Although we feel calendar effects during certain periods, when we look at the bigger picture, we are gradually moving closer to our target."