Turkey’s foreign trade deficit rose by 10.8 percent in June

Turkey’s foreign trade deficit rose by 10.8 percent year on year to $5.8 billion in June, with imports decreasing 4.4 percent, according to data produced with the cooperation of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Trade Ministry.

Imports stood at $24.9 billion, while exports declined by 8.3 percent to $19.4 billion.

The export-to-import coverage ratio, which was 79.7 percent in June 2023, dropped to 76.4 percent last month.

During the January-June period of 2024, exports increased by 2.6 percent to $126 billion, while imports declined by 8.4 percent to $168.8 billion compared to the same period last year.

The country’s foreign trade deficit decreased by 30.5 percent to $42.5 billion in the same period.

TurkStat figures further showed that the foreign trade deficit, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, was $1.7 billion in June, while the foreign trade volume was $36.8 billion with a 6 percent decrease compared to June 2023.

Germany maintained its position as Turkey’s main export partner in June with $1.555 billion, followed by the US with $1.287 billion and the UK with $1.059 billion. The top five countries accounted for 30.1 percent of total exports.

In terms of imports, China led with $3.394 billion, followed by Russia with $2.948 billion and Germany with $1.930 billion. The top five countries accounted for 42.7 percent of total imports.

A total of 94.3 percent of exports were manufactured goods, of which 4.1 percent comprised high-tech items, while manufactured goods accounted for 81.7 percent of total imports, 10.8 percent of which was high-tech.