(Zaman) - Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen has revealed that Turkey's target for exports in 2007 is $100 billion, up from an original goal of $95 billion.
Tuzmen attended a meeting held by Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) in Ankara to evaluate Turkey's exports for 2006 and to unveil the target figure for this year.
Tuzmen said that $100 billion was a critical threshold: "I want to give Turkey a three-digit export figure. Turkey is targeting exports of $100 billion in 2007 and we are capable of doing this," he remarked.
According to official data, Turkey's exports in 2006 reached $85.7 billion, exceeding the government's target of $84 billion, reports Trend.
Despite rising exports, Turkey's trade deficit is also increasing due to soaring imports, which leads to a huge current account deficit. Analysts see it as the weakest chain of Turkey's fast-growing economy, which leaves the country dependant on foreign capital flows and vulnerable to changes in global markets.
Tuzmen went on to say that the country's imports almost reached $135 billion last year and predicted the ratio of the trade deficit to trade volume would be 22 percent at the end of 2006, when compared with the year-end figure of 2005, which was 22.8 percent.
Tuzmen also recalled that Turkish economy had been growing ceaselessly in the last 19 quarters.