Turkey’s Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan has said the country’s volume of exports for the period beginning Jan. 1 and ending last Friday was recorded at some USD 41 billion and added that the pre-global financial crisis level of USD 132 billion is expected to be exceeded by year-end, equaling an increase of more than 15 percent over a year ago.

The government’s target previously was to have a total export volume of USD 127 billion in 2011. Speaking at the First Trade Counselors Conference organized in Ankara, Caglayan noted that this year’s export performance will be “another milestone” for Turkey to reach USD 500 billion in exports by 2023, the centennial of the Republic of Turkey.

Last year, Turkey exported USD 114 billion worth of goods abroad, up from USD 102 billion in 2009, when, as a result of the global financial crisis, demand notably dropped major export markets such as Europe. Before the global economic turmoil started to fully show its real impact on the world economy, Turkey’s exports peaked at USD 132 billion in 2008.