According to data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), Turkey’s exports to seven neighboring countries -- Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Greece -- were recorded as $13.74 billion last year, while this figure was $14.31 billion in 2008, representing a year-on-year fall of 3.9 percent. In 2009, Turkish exports to Azerbaijan declined by 16.1 percent, to $1.4 billion, from $1.67 billion in 2008. During the same period, Bulgaria posted the greatest drop in imports from Turkey, decreasing by 35.5 percent from $2.15 billion to $1.39 billion. Exports to Georgia were also down from $997.8 million in 2008 to $746.1 million last year, falling by 25.2 percent. Iran purchased 0.24 percent fewer goods from Turkey last year compared to 2008, down from $2.03 billion to $2.025.
The only neighboring countries that Turkey managed to increase its exports to last year were Iraq and Syria. Exports to Iraq saw a rise of 30.9 percent, increasing from $3.92 billion in 2008 to $5.13 billion in 2009. Syria also grew its imports from Turkey by 27.8 percent during the same period, from $1.12 billion to $1.43 billion. Turkey’s exports to its neighboring countries accounted for 13.5 percent of the country’s overall exports in 2009.
