Turkey's exports go down in July

ANKARA (AA) – The value of Turkey’s exports decreased by 18.7 percent in July to $8.8 billion compared to the same period last year because of the long holiday period in the month, the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly said Monday.

In remarks made at a press conference in southwest Burdur province, the assembly’s President Mehmet Buyukeksi said: "The coup attempt's effect on exports was limited and this loss was in fact due to the 9-day long Eid al-Fitr holiday."

In July, Turkey increased its exports to 62 countries; the biggest increase was exports to Netherlands, with 8.9 percent. Moreover, 13 Turkish cities increased their exports, while 65 witnessed a drop.

The country’s exports decreased by 4.9 percent to $80.4 billion during the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2015, according to the assembly’s data.

Turkey’s value of total exports in the last 12 months stood at $139.7 billion, down by 6.1 percent compared with the previous 12 months.

The automotive sector made the highest exports in July, with over $1.72 billion worth of exports, which is an increase of 5.2 percent compared with July last year.

Other champion export sectors were the ready-made textiles sector with $1.25 billion, followed by the chemical materials and products sector with almost $1 billion, according to the data.

Exports to the European Union, Turkey’s main trading partner, decreased by 10.6 percent in the month, but it had increased by 4.9 percent in the first seven months.

Turkey’s exports to the Middle East decreased by 25 percent in July, year-on-year.

The Turkish Exporters’ Assembly also reported that Turkey’s exports to 168 countries had decreased during last month.

Germany, Italy, the U.S., the U.K. and France were the largest export markets for Turkey in July.

The country's exports to the U.K, decreased by 28.3percent; to the U.S. by 26.5 percent; and to Germany by 12.9 percent in the month.

The largest increase in the country’s exports among the top 20 markets was seen in Netherlands with an increase of 8.9 percent, followed by a 0.2 percent increase in Poland.

The assembly also said the number of working days in July of the year was only 16 days compared to 22 days in the same month of 2015.

Turkey declared a nine-day public holiday starting from July 2 for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, aimed at boosting domestic tourism in the country.