Turkish exports decline due to civil unrest
The instability and social unrest in the Middle East and North African countries has a negative impact on Turkish exports.
Turkey’s southern province of Antalya is experiencing a significant decline in cement exports this year due to Middle Eastern and North African turmoil, the head of the Antalya Free Trade Zone, or ASBAŞ, said during a Sunday meeting.
“Cement exports fell by 35 per cent in the first half of this year compared with last year,” said Zeki Gürses, general manager of ASBAŞ, speaking to press in Antalya. The city’s total exports of cement and barite in the first half of last year was at around 515,000t and declined to 335,000t by the first half of this year, he said.
The total trade volume of the Antalya Free Trade Zone reached US$75.3m by the end of the first half of 2011 compared to last year’s US$71.6m, according to official figures. “Despite the five per cent increase in total trade volume in this year’s first half compared with last year, our city’s cement and barite export was hit by the Middle Eastern and North African turmoil especially in January and February,” said Gürses.
Published under Cement News
