Mediterranean exporters see 19% rise in first 5 months

The Mediterranean Exporters Association (AKİB) saw its exports increase by 19 percent year-on-year in the first five months of this year.

Namely, exports of the members of the association increased to some $5.82 billion in the said period, the association's coordinator Chairman Uğur Ateş announced Monday in a statement.

Ateş said exporters were very pleased with the increase in the export figures.

"The exports in the first five months of this year, which stood at some $4.88 billion in the same period of last year, increased by 19 percent to $5.82 billion," he said.

Ateş remarked that the AKİB carried out exports of around $1.17 billion in May of this year, corresponding to an increase of 20 percent compared to the same period of last year. He also noted that Spain, Iraq, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were the top five markets last month.

With the exports in May, the association's share in Turkey's total exports, which amounted to $15.52 billion in the said month, reached 7.5 percent.

The association maintains the upward trend in its exports, which increased by 13 percent, 23 percent, 9 percent and 36 percent, respectively, from January to April.