Turkish exports to the UK reached $15.13 billion this January-November, jumping from last year's figure of $13.87 billion over the same period, the head of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM) told Anadolu.
Mustafa Gultepe said Türkiye-UK relations are at a high level, as Britain's economy grew "even more vibrant" after leaving the EU.
"Both political and economic relations between the two countries are going well — most of our sectors saw an increase in exports to the UK, close to 10%," he said, speaking on the sidelines of the group's regional export meeting in the Turkish Riviera city of Antalya to discuss the issues exporters face.
"Developing bilateral relations between the two countries and the UK market's particular interest in Türkiye boosted production and exports — the rise in automotive, chemical, and other sectors, which is close to double digits, is what was of note the most; we expect exports to the UK to continue to rise similarly next year," he added.
Gultepe said the Turkish auto sector has made great strides this year, growing 10%, and the chemical sector grew around 5%, while some sectors didn't — he said all sectors need to grow to propel the country to join the top 10 exporters in the medium-term.
He said Türkiye's exports to its neighbors also rose, especially to Syria.
"The cities of Aleppo (in northwestern Syria) and Gaziantep (in southeastern Türkiye) are particularly close to each other — transportation between the two points takes only 90 minutes," he said. "Our exports reached up to $2.5 billion in the past, but recent developments in the country saw exports jumping from $1.5 billion to $3 billion."
"We saw an increase of over 50% in January-November, led particularly by the food and construction sectors, among others, and we believe that more of our sectors will export to Syria moving forward," he added.
