Turkey's automotive export to Arab countries drops significantly

BURSA (A.A) - 08.04.2011 - Turkey's automotive exports to Arab countries dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2011 because of the unrest in those countries.
According to figures of Automotive Industry Exporters' Union (OIB), exports dropped 26 percent to Morocco, 23 percent to Tunisia, 69 percent to Egypt, 41 percent to Syria, 65 percent to Libya, 42 percent to Oman, 75 percent to Yemen and 12 percent to Bahrain in January-March period of the year.
Automotive exports to 147 countries, autonomous regions as well as 9 free zones increased 10 percent over the same period of last year and amounted to 4.6 billion USD.
Below are the automotive exports and rate of change to Arab countries:


.           Exports/Q1 2010   Exports/Q1 2011 Change  
Country    (thousand USD)   (thousand USD)   (pct) 
---------   ------------   ------------   ------- 
1-Morocco      27.777         20.546        -26
2-Tunisia      16.343         12.546        -23
3-Egypt        36.858         11.520        -69
4-Syria        11.292          6.684        -41 
5-Libya         6.799          2.395        -65 
6-Oman          1.665            960        -42
7-Yemen         2.697            666        -75
8-Bahrain         325            285        -12