Turkey’s growing trade relationship with Russia took another upward turn during the first half of 2018, with shoe exports leading the way. While trade between the countries grew by 64% overall, shoe exports increased by a massive 120% from January to July.
And leather in general was a key driver of the trade increase. Accroding to figures released by the Turkish finance ministry, exports of leather apparel products increased by 11 percent to $445 million, exports of leather hides surged to $6.3 million from $4.5 million – a 39 percent growth in the same period. Also, exports of leather-craft products were $1.81 million. According to estimates, Turkey's leather product exports to Russia should exceed $250 million by the end of 2018.
