Türkiye witnessed a notable improvement in trade conditions so far this year with its foreign trade deficit falling 41.8 percent year-on-year to $7.295 billion, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) recently revealed. Exports rose 13.8 percent annually to $22.5 billion last month, while imports plunged 7.8 percent annually to $29.8 billion.
In the January-July 2024 period, Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit reached $49.938 billion, a 32.4 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.
“We have made significant progress in reducing the high current account deficit, which is one of the macroeconomic imbalances. The decreasing current account deficit and external financing needs contribute significantly to the disinflation process,” finance minister Mehmet Şimşek commented on social media platform X.
Annual foreign trade deficit falls
The annual foreign trade deficit in July decreased by $38.7 billion compared to the same period last year. This indicates an annual current account deficit of less than $20 billion for July, Şimşek added.
The data also revealed that the export/import coverage ratio improved from 61.2 percent in July 2023 to 75.5 percent last month.
Türkiye’s exports, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, rose 13 percent to $20.524 billion in July 2024. Meanwhile, imports, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, lost 4.2 percent to $23.506 billion. Therefore, Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, reached $2.982 billion in July 2024.
Primary export partners
In July 2024, the main partner country for Türkiye’s exports was Germany with an export value of $1.752 billion. Following closely came the United Kingdom at $1.604 billion, the U.S. with $1.441 billion, Iraq with $1.59 billion, and Italy with $1.29 billion. The ratio of the first five countries in total exports reached 30.6 percent in July 2024.
Read: UAE’s non-oil foreign trade reaches record $379.81 billion in H1 2024
China tops Türkiye’s import partners
Last month, the top country for Türkiye’s imports was China with a value of $4.155 billion. Russia ranked second at $3.773 billion and Germany ranked third at $2.535 billion. In 4th place came Italy with $1.407 billion and the U.S. with $1.4 billion. The ratio of the first five countries in total imports reached 44.5 percent in July 2024.
For more news on logistics, click here.
