Turkey’s machinery exports reached $9.2 billion in the first five months of this year, according to figures released by a sector association on Sunday.

The sector's exports increased by 37% year-on-year in the January-May period, and 12% versus the same period in 2019, the Machinery Exporters’ Association said in a press release.

Turkey's machinery exports to the country's 10 main destinations in this field -- such as Germany, the UK, France and Poland -- increased by 18% during the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2019.

Kutlu Karavelioglu, the head of the association, said the global goods trade increased 18% in the first quarter and suddenly surpassed $5 trillion level in the last two quarters, adding that considering that global exports have not exceeded $18.5 trillion level annually for a long time, it is inevitable that this unexpectedly pace of improvement will have after effects.

The main reason for the increase in value in the trade of goods is high orders, he stressed and noted global inflation, logistics problems and some raw materials which are on the black market or whose exports are restricted also fuel the price increase.

The concern that "the supply will not be enough" has quickly reflected in machinery and equipment investments, Karavelioglu underlined.

He highlighted that the sector has been constantly receiving new machine orders.

The sector may revise its export target of $21 billion for 2021 after these positive figures, he added.

Touching on the EU's machinery imports, which has reached $360 billion during the pandemic, Karavelioglu said Turkey's exports were $12 billion to the EU countries during this period but it is not enough.

"We aim to get a much thicker slice of this cake," he added.​​​​​​​/aa