Exports surge 11.4 percent to $20 billion in May

ANKARA

Türkiye’s exports increased by 11.4 percent in May from a year earlier to $24.07 billion, according to data from the Trade Ministry.

Imports plunged more than 10 percent annually to $30.6 billion, leading to a foreign trade deficit of $6.5 billion, down 47.8 percent from May last year.

This marked a record high May figure, said Trade Minister Ömer Bolat.

The export/import coverage ratio improved by 15.3 points from a year earlier to 78.7 percent in May, while energy imports excluded, the ratio was 88.1 percent, showed the ministry data.

Germany was the largest export market for Türkiye with shipments to Europe’s largest economy amounting to $1.9 billion. The U.S. came in second with $1.48 billion, followed by the U.K. with $1.45 billion.

Türkiye’s exports to the European Union stood at $9.93 billion.

Last month, Türkiye purchased $3.86 billion worth of goods from China, while it paid $3.78 billion for imports from Russia. The country’s imports from Germany were $2.28 billion.

Consumer goods imports surged 19.8 percent compared to May 2023 to $4.92 billion, but intermediate goods imports plunged 16.4 percent to $21 billion. The annual decline in imports of capital goods was 5.4 percent to $4.5 billion.

In the January-May period, exports amounted to $106 billion, rising 4.5 percent year-on-year, while imports were down 9.3 percent to $143.7 billion.

Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit shrank 34.4 percent in the first five months of the year to $36.8 billion, showed the ministry data.