Turkish ship and yacht industry exports in the first half of the year reached $647 million, a record increase of 76.6 percent, while 89 percent of foreign sales were realized in Istanbul and Yalova.
In the January-June period, Istanbul and Yalova, the two leading cities that constituted $576.2 million of ship and yacht exports, grew by 77.28 percent and 120 percent, respectively.
According to data compiled by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), foreign exports in the sector, which stood at $366.3 million in the January-June period of 2016, increased by 76.6 percent to $647 million in the same period this year.
The sector raised its exports from $58.3 million in June last year to $162.1 million in the same month this year, an increase of 178 percent.
Foreign sales from the ship and yacht industry, which followed a volatile course, increased by 57 percent in January, 40 percent in February, 87 percent in March and decreased by 16 percent in April. The sector had the highest monthly rate in May in the first half of the year, a record increase of 237 percent.
Covering most of the sector's foreign sales, Istanbul, which realized $255.3 million in sales in the first half of 2016, recorded an increase of 77.28 percent in the same period this year, reaching $452.6 million. Istanbul held 69.94 percent of Turkey's total ship and yacht exports.
Yalova, which ranked second after Istanbul and has grown significantly in the sector in recent years, climbed from $56.2 million in the January-June period last year to $123.6 in the same period this year with a record increase of 120 percent. Yalova's share of the sector's total exports amounted to 19.10 percent.
These two cities, shouldering the ship and yacht sector, accounted for 89.05 percent ($576.2 million) of Turkey's total ship and yacht exports.
Turkey also reached $44.7 million for Canada, $43.6 million for the Marshall Islands, $38.8 million for Liberia, $37.8 million for Norway, $27.7 million for the United States, $25.3 million for Italy, $24 million for the Netherlands, $23.8 million for Estonia, $22.7 million for Britain, $18.9 million for Iraq, $17.9 for the British Virgin Islands, $17.5 million for Denmark, $14.2 million for Poland, $8 million for Saudi Arabia and $7.2 million for Qatar in ship and yacht exports.