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"According to the latest figures Turkish industrial production grew 10.4% year on year in March. This has led to the Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan saying that 2011 has all the signs of being a record year for exports.
Caglayan sees exports reaching as high as $132 billion, which correlates with the prediction of the Turkish Exporters Assembly. Part of the reason for the increase in exports is the Eurozone's economic recovery, and as this continues exports can be expected to increase on a month to month basis. Exports to Eurozone countries account for around 52% of all goods.
In fact according to Mehmet Buyukeksi, President of the Turkish Exporters Union, Turkish exporters expect to employ an additional 200,000 people by the end of 2011. A survey carried out on the union found that 49% of exporters have increased the number of employees while 19.4% have decreased the number of employees. The survey also found that exporters have no concerns about the upcoming June 12 election, and full confidence in the economy.
Industrial production figures for March are the highest since the industrial production index was established in 2005. Industrial production levels have now broken records for five of the previous six months. During this time period exports increased by 17.4%, and a new record was set in April when exports totalled 11.8 billion USD. This indicates the close link between industrial production and exports.
