ANKARA

Turkey's exports from January to August recorded a 5.3-percent annual hike, Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM) announced on Saturday.

In the eight-month period, the country's overall exports totaled $108.7 billion, up from $103.2 billion in the same period last year.

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In August alone, Turkish exports amounted to $12.4 billion, down 6.5 percent, compared to the same month in 2017.

TIM noted that the fall in exports last month was due to the nine-day Islamic holiday break of Eid al-Adha.

Turkey's exports hit an all-time high of $157.6 billion in 2014. They amounted to nearly $157 billion last year.

The exporters' assembly noted that Turkish products were exported to nearly 220 countries in August.

"There was an increase in exports to 96 of these countries while the top five export markets were Germany, the U.K., Iraq, the U.S. and Spain," it said.

TIM figures showed the automotive industry was the leading sector with exports worth $1.61 billion last month, followed by ready-made garments and apparel at $1.39 billion and chemical products at $1.37 billion.

Jewelry exports climbed 177 percent year-on-year in August, marking the best performance among all sectors, while steel and fresh fruit/vegetable exports rose 43 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

In the eight-month period, the top export market for Turkish products was Germany with $10.45 billion -- 9.88 percent of the total exports -- followed by the U.K. ($7.08 billion), Italy ($6.18 billion), the U.S. ($5.30 billion), and Spain ($5.05 billion).

TIM data also showed that the 12-month overall exports rose 6.5 percent on a yearly basis, reaching $162.4 billion.

Of the 12-month overall exports, TIM members' exports amounted to some $22.2 billion in agriculture, around $130.8 billion in industry, and nearly $4.5 billion in mining.