Turkish exports up 0.6% in June

Turkey's exports in June reached 11. 8 billion U.S. dollars, scoring a 0.6-percent increase year on year, Turkish Daily News reported Tuesday. Turkey exported products worth 74.66 billion dollars in the first half of this year, a 2.5-percent rise from the same period last year, according to the Turkish Exporters' Assembly. "The export increase rate will be a single digit in 2013, but we will achieve a 158-billion-dollar export value," said Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan in a written statement. Analysts said Turkey's export growth experienced a slowdown in the first half of 2013, which would weigh on the government's endeavor to boost the economy. In 2012, Turkey's exports saw an increase of 13.1 percent, reaching a record high of 152.5 billion dollars. The Turkish economy scored a 3-percent growth in the first quarter of this year, and economists expect it to expand by 4 percent in 2013 year on year.