Turkey's pharmaceutical exports surged 150% in the 2009-2018 period, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said Thursday.

The country earned nearly $1.2 billion from its pharmaceutical exports last year, up from $474 million in 2009, TurkStat reported.

TurkStat data also showed that the country imported nearly $4.8 billion worth of pharmaceutical products last year. Pharmaceutical imports fell 7.6% over the last decade, according to official data. Germany was the largest exporter of pharmaceutical products to Turkey last year, accounting for 18.4% of the total.