Turkey export growth 'hits record in 2011'

Turkey's exports increased by a record 18.2 percent in 2011, reaching $134.6 billion, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said on Monday. "This is a record in the history of the republic," the minister was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. Turkish exports in December 2011 increased by 4.5 percent compared to the same month in 2010 and hit $12.1 billion, he added. Turkey, a country of about 73 million people and the world's 17th-biggest economy, shows one of the highest growth rates in the world, but the government expects output to roughly halve next year because of the eurozone crisis. The economy grew by 8.9 percent in 2010 and the government forecasts growth of 8.0 percent for 2011.