Turkish packaging industry registered $539 million foreign trade surplus for the January-June period, according to the Packaging Manufacturers Association (ASD) on Saturday.
The export of the packaging industry climbed 8 percent in quantity and 17 percent in value in the first half of 2018, compared to the same period previous year, ASD said in a statement.
Zeki Saribekir, president of the association, said: "The [packaging] exports of our country in 2018 show an average growth of 12 percent per month."
"We should proceed with the target of exporting at least the half of the packaging we produce in Turkey," he noted.
Packaging imports rose 7 percent in quantity and 13 percent in value compared to the first six month of 2017.
In Jan.-June period, the top country with packaging exports in terms of value was Germany, followed by Britain, Iraq, Italy and Israel.
When considering the total export figures, plastic packaging was ranked first with 65 percent share, and paper/cardboard packages ranked second with 24 percent.
