Budget statistics announced by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance have revealed that Turkey’s budget deficit in the first three months of 2019 stood at TL 36.2 billion ($6.2 billion), which corresponds to half its annual level in 2018, the Diken news website reported on Monday.
According to the figures, quarterly revenue has seen an increase of 30.4 percent and expenditure 35.4 percent.
The targeted budget deficit for 2019 was TL 80.6 billion, according to the New Economic Program announced recently.
Roughly two-thirds of this quarterly deficit occurred in March, at the end of which Turkey held local elections.
Prior to the elections, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) introduced a set of measures arguably aimed at securing the poll results in the face of growing concerns over the economy.
Most notably, AKP-led municipalities set up stalls that offered discounted produce through government subsidies in order to combat a spike in prices.