UPDATE - Turkey's exports rise 12.2 pct in May

UPDATE WITH MORE DETAILS

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's exports soared 12.2 percent to reach $13.96 billion in May, compared to the same month last year, the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM) announced on Friday.

On a quantity basis, the country's exports showed an increase of 3.8 percent to reach 10.5 million tons year-on-year in the month, TIM's data said.

TIM stressed that the country's 12-month exports also jumped 10.2 percent year-on-year to $161.7 billion.

Turkey made $69 billion in exports during the first five months of 2018, up 9.3 percent over the same period last year, according to TIM.

Turkey's exports were $13.9 billion in April and $157.02 billion in 2017, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

- Auto, clothing, chemical sectors

19.8 percent of Turkey's exports this May came from the automotive sector with nearly $2.8 billion, up 7.9 percent compared to May 2017, the TIM data showed.

Auto sector exports were followed by the clothing ($1.49 billion) and chemical products ($1.46 billion) sectors, it stressed.

Turkey's exports to Germany, Britain and Italy, Turkey's top trading partners, rose 9.76 percent, 12.51 percent and 23.32 percent, respectively, year-on-year in May, according to the data.

The data also showed the country's exports to its main export destination EU was $7.2 billion in the month.

Istanbul was the Turkish city that exported the most in May with $6.15 billion, followed by prominent industrial centers Kocaeli and Bursa with ($1.17 billion), it stressed.

Nihat Zeybekci, Turkey's economy minister, said that the country's exports would climb over $170 billion by the end of 2018.

"We take steps to abolish the current deficit problem with our investments and exports," he added.