Turkey's exports of medical products doubled in 2020

Volunteers put masks in boxes at Turkish Red Crescent Community Center in Hatay, Turkey on 20 August 2020. [Cem Genco – Anadolu Agency]

Turkey’s exports of medical products doubled in 2020 compared to the previous year amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) said today.

In a statement, the assembly said exports reached $5 billion last year.

As the demand for Turkish medical products increases each year, the country’s exports of disinfectants jumped 2,115 per cent to $243 million in 2020, the statement said.

The country’s ventilator exports surged 195 per cent to $48 million during the same period, it added.

Commenting on the figure, TIM head Ismail Gulle said Turkey has proved to the world that the country is a reliable supplier of medical products.

At the start of the pandemic, the UK received some 440,000 medical gowns from Turkey as part of an 84 tonne shipment, however, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the gowns turned out to “not be of the quality that we feel is good enough for our frontline staff”.

READ: Turkey’s economy grows 1.8% in 2020

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