Foreign trade gap narrows 43.5 pct

ANKARA

Turkey reduced its foreign trade gap by 43.5 percent and reached $31.17 billion from $55.12 billion in 2018, the country's statistical authority announced on Jan. 31.

Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported that during 2019 the country's exports rose 2.1 percent to reach $171.5 billion while imports fell 9.1 percent to stand at $202.7 billion.

Turkey's export/import coverage ratio reached 84.6 percent last year, up from 75.3 percent in 2018, according to TÜİK data.

In December 2019, Turkey made exports of $14.7 billion, up 6.4 percent on a yearly basis, while the country's imports rose 14.9 percent to reach $19.2 billion.

The foreign trade deficit in December 2019 was $4.3 billion, up 57.6 percent compared to December 2018.

"In December 2019, the export coverage imports was 77.3 percent while it was 83.4 percent in December 2018," it added.