Turkey’s foreign trade deficit reaches nearly $110 bln in past year

Turkey has seen its foreign trade deficit soar to nearly $110 billion in the past year, local media reported on Friday, citing data generated in collaboration between the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Ministry of Trade.

According to the data, Turkey’s exports rose by 1.6 percent to $21.6 billion, while imports decreased by 6.9 percent to $30.2 billion in August compared to the same month of 2022, bringing the 12-month foreign trade deficit to $109.5 billion.

The figures further showed that in August, the foreign trade deficit decreased by 23.1 percent compared to the same month of last year, dropping from $11.2 billion to $8.6 billion.

During the January-August 2023 period, the foreign trade deficit increased by 11.9 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, rising from $73.5 billion to $82.3 billion.

Germany was the leading export destination in August with $1.783 billion, followed by the US with $1.322 billion and Iraq with $1.091 billion. The top 10 countries accounted for 46.3 percent of total exports.

In terms of imports, China led with $3.828 billion, followed by Russia with $3.420 billion and Germany with $2.556 billion. The top 10 countries accounted for 60.8 percent of total imports.