Exports and imports decline in March: Trade Ministry

ANKARA

Türkiye’s exports fell by 4.1 percent to $22.6 billion, while the annual decline in imports was 5.7 percent to $30.1 billion in March, data from the Trade Ministry has shown.

Consequently, the country’s foreign trade deficit came in at $7.5 billion last month, shrinking by 10.3 percent from March 2023.

The export/import coverage ratio was 75 percent, improving by 1.3 points compared with March 2023.

Despite the annual decline, exports, however, surpassed the export revenues in January - $20 billion and February - $21.1 billion.

The weak economic performance in the EU, which absorbs some 40 percent of Türkiye’s exports, impacted the export performance last month, the Trade Ministry said in a statement.

Shipments to the bloc amounted to $9.97 billion in March, while imports from the EU stood at $9.9 billion.

Germany remained the largest single export market with shipments to the country totaling to $1.75 billion, followed by Italy at $1.3 billion and the U.S. at 1.26 billion.

China was the largest supplier of goods with imports from the world’s second-largest economy coming in at $3.9 billion.

Türkiye’s imports from Russia from Germany were $3.68 billion and $2.15 billion, respectively.

Intermediate goods imports were down 9.3 percent annually to $21 billion, while consumer goods imports surged 19.3 percent to $4.6 billion.

In the first quarter of 2024, exports rose 3.6 percent year-on-year to $63.7 billion, while imports dropped 12.6 percent to $84.1 billion.

The foreign trade deficit shrank more than 41 percent in January-March to $20.5 billion.