Foreign trade deficit down 34.5 percent

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit has dropped by 34.5 percent in June, according to data announced on July 3 by the Trade Ministry.

“Despite the weak course of production and foreign trade in the world economy and the effect of the nine-day holiday of Eid al-Adha, our monthly exports in June amounted to $20.9 billion,” the ministry said in statement.

“This figure is higher than the average monthly exports in the first five months of 2023. Exports of $20.9 billion in June 2023 represents a decrease of 10.5 percent compared to June 2022. The main reason is the pause in orders and shipments due to the nine-day holiday. Thus, our six-month exports in the first half of 2023 amounted to $123.4 billion,” it added.

According to data, Türkiye’s imports fell 16.8 percent to $26.3 billion in June 2023, the lowest level in 20 months.

“The decline in imports was mainly due to a decrease in non-calendar energy imports, and total energy imports fell by 45.3 percent to $4.4 billion in June,” said the ministry.

The fall in imports helped lower the foreign trade deficit.

“With the realization of our exports at the level of $21 billion and the noticeable decrease in imports, Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit decreased by 34.5 percent to $5.4 billion,” said the Trade Ministry in its statement.

“The ratio of exports to imports was 79.5 percent in June 2023, with an increase of 16.1 points compared to the previous month, approaching 80 percent after 19 months, and was an important indicator of the positive trend in the foreign trade balance,” it added.

According to official data, Türkiye’s exports in the first half of the year were $52 billion to the EU-27, $10 billion to Africa, $10.6 billion to the Americas and $20.7 billion to the Middle East.