Turkey exported over $1 billion of jewelry in the first four months this year, seeing $258.86 million of that figure in April, according to the Jewelry Exporters' Association yesterday.

In April, most exports were made to the near and Mideast countries with $81.1 million, followed North America with $60 million, the European Union with $50.3 million, other Asian countries with $32 million and other European countries with $14.4 million.

In terms of countries, exports to the U.S. skyrocketed by 140 percent to $58.1 million. The U.S. was followed by United Arab Emirates (UAE) with $48.9 million, a 55 percent increase, Germany with $17.1 million, a 24 percent rise, Hong Kong with $17 million, a decrease of 41 percent and Qatar with $8.9 million, an increase of 150 percent.

Around 75 percent of the $258.9 million worth of exports made in April were obtained from golden jeweler and goldsmith goods, while 11 percent, or $28.2 million, came from rough and semi-processed gold, 5 percent ($11.8 million) from diamond and gold jeweler's goods and parts, 4 percent ($10.5 million) from silver jeweler and goldsmith goods, and 2 percent ($5 million) from debris and residue of precious metals or metals coated with precious metals.

Exports in the first four months of this year totaled to some $1.082 billion, the association said.

Indicating that the jewelry industry is a strategic one and should be declared so, Jewelry Exporters' Association Chairman Mustafa Kamar said with a 35 percent increase in exports, the industry was one of the two sectors that increased their exports the most last year, while it has achieved an upward momentum in line with the targets in the first four months of the year.

"The fact 75

percent of our exports were golden jeweler and goldsmith draws attention. Again, we increased our exports to the U.S. by 140 percent compared to the same period of last year. In this scope, we are continuing our work to contribute more to national exports," said Kamar.