Delivering a speech at Parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission, Çağlayan noted that Turkish exports had slumped by 29.5 percent in the first 10 months of 2009 when compared to the same period of last year.Turkey ranked 32nd among exporting countries with an export volume of $132 billion, the minister said, adding that Turkey also had $202 billion in imports last year, which made the country the 20th top importer.
Following a lower year-on-year contraction rate as seen in the second quarter of this year compared to the first quarter, exports are also on the rise, signaling an economic recovery, the minister said. Exports increased by 4.6 percent in October over the same month of last year, he noted. “Turkey can go beyond its 2009 target of $98.5 billion in exports under the Middle-term Economic Program and exceed $100 billion by the end of this year, which is also a psychological barrier.”
Çağlayan, noting that Turkey’s growth rate is below its potential, stated that an export-oriented growth model was adopted in order to accelerate growth. Turkey’s economy is expected to contract by 6 percent this year, however, the minister said, the target for 2010 is set at 3.5 percent, above the average global projection of 3.1 percent.
