Foreign trade deficit widens 21 percent in June

ANKARA

Türkiye’s foreign trade balance posted a deficit of $6.44 billion in June, widening 21.4 percent from a year ago, the Trade Ministry has said.

Exports fell 10.6 percent year-on-year to $18.6 billion, while the annual decline in imports was 4.1 percent to $25 billion.

The export/import coverage ratio deteriorated from 79.7 percent in June 2023 to 74.3 percent last month.

Energy and gold imports excluded, the coverage ratio was 89.9 percent, showed data from the ministry on July 3.

Shipments to Germany amounted to $1.5 billion last month, making Europe’s largest economy Türkiye’s biggest export market.

The U.S. ranked second at $1.23 billion, while exports to the U.K. stood at $973 million.

Italy and Iraq came fourth and fifth at $942 million and $838 million, respectively.

Exports to the European Union amounted to $8.15 billion, while shipments to non-EU countries in Europe stood at $2.8 billion.

Last month, Türkiye imported $3.36 billion worth of goods from China, while imports from Russia were $2.92 billion.

Consumer goods imports climbed 3.4 percent compared with June last year to $3.8 billion. Intermediate goods imports plunged 5.4 percent to $17.6 billion and the annual decline in capital goods imports was 4.6 percent to $ 3.7 billion.

The 12-month trailing exports and imports amounted to $258 billion and $346 billion, respectively as of June.

In the first half of 2024, exports rose 2 percent year-on-year to $125.5 billion, and imports fell 8.5 percent to $169 billion, leading to a foreign trade deficit of $43.2 billion, down 29.5 percent from a year ago.