Exports in Turkish lira soared by 127 percent, from $2.16 billion to $4.89 billion in the first four months of 2017 compared to the same period last year.

In the period from January to April, exports in lira have been breaking all-time records every month.

According to data compiled by the Anadolu Agency from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's call last year for trade in local currency proved to have a profound impact on foreign trade.

As exports reached $51 billion in the first four months of 2017, the use of the Turkish lira in exports reached the record-breaking $4.89 billion.

During the same period last year the share of Turkish lira-based exports was 4.6 percent, whereas in 2017 the percentage nearly doubled to 9.6 percent.

Meanwhile, imports in Turkish lira also increased by 21.2 percent and reached $5.25 billion over the period from January to April.

The share of imports in Turkish lira in total exports were 7.7 percent.

The share of Turkish-lira based transactions in Turkey's foreign trade increased from 5.9 percent to 8.5 percent in the same period.