Ankara: Turkey aims to increase the exports of its jewellery products to over $10 billion in 2023, despite the February earthquakes’ impact on the sector, a business leader said.
Burak Yakin, chairman of the Turkish Jewellery Exporters’ Union (MIB), told Xinhua news agency that the country’s jewellery industry is recuperating from the catastrophic February 6 earthquakes and expected to continue its robust growth in 2023, surpassing the $10 billion in exports recorded in 2022, up from $6.7 billion of exports and re-exports registered in 2021.
The exports have increased significantly in the past decade, and accounts for 1.5 per cent of all Turkish exports in 2022, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute in March.
More than 300 tonnes of gold are made into sophisticated pieces of jewellery in Turkish factories each year, according to statistics released by MIB.
“In terms of gold and silver refinery technology and production capacity, the Turkish jewellery industry ranks among the top three in the world,” Yakin said.
Turkey is the second-biggest exporter of gold jewellery after Italy and the third biggest consumer of gold after India and the US.
The jewellery sector creates more than 250,000 jobs in Turkey, according to data from the Ministry of Trade.
–IANS