Exports down by 4.6 pct in October

Turkey's exports in October went down by 4.6 percent annually, the main exporters' association in the country said Tuesday.

Exports in October had declined to $11.7 billion from $12.4 billion in the same month last year, slipping by 4.6 percent, according to a report released by the Turkish Exporters Assembly. Total exports in the first eight months of the year went down 3.7 percent compared to the same period last year, hitting $115.9 billion, the report said.

"The World Trade Organization downgraded its forecast for global trade growth to 1.7 percent from 2.8 percent. In this cut, the deterioration of demand and a lower-than-expected growth performance of emerging economies, especially China and Brazil made an impact," Turkish Exporters Assembly head Mehmet Büyükekşi said.

Turkey's 12-month exports also went down by 5 percent to reach $139.4 billion, giving an indication of the impact the decline in global trade volume made on it.

"During the January-August period of the year, global trade contracted by 4.4 percent. In the same period, South Korea's exports sank by 8.8 percent, the U.K. by 12.1 percent, China by 7.2 percent and the U.S. by 5.6 percent. "But our country showed a relatively better performance despite many challenges." Büyükekşi said.