Record growth in Turkey’s exports fails to overcome trade deficit

Turkish exports continued to grow in August, reaching $ 21.3 billion with an increase of 13 percent. Exports, which recorded growth in the first 8 months of the year, reached 165.6 billion dollars in this period. Imports, on the other hand, increased by 40.8 percent in August to 32.6 billion dollars, while in the first 8 months of the year it went up to 239.1 billion dollars. The foreign trade deficit in this period exceeded $ 73 billion.

Foreign trade data for August were announced at the Southeastern Anatolian Exporters’ Association (GAIB) building in Gaziantep with the participation of Trade Minister Mehmet Muş and Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) Chairman Mustafa Gultepe and a large number of exporters. In August, Turkey’s exports reached 21.3 billion dollars with an increase of 13 percent compared to the previous year, while imports increased by 40.8 percent to 32.6 billion dollars. 8,7 billion dollars of imports were from energy sources. The foreign trade volume increased to 54 billion dollars with an increase of 28 percent compared to the previous year.

While exports were 165.6 billion dollars in the first 8 months, the Turkish exporter has achieved its export target on an annual basis by showing its success in exceeding 250 billion dollars in the last 12 months. Imports increased to 239.1 billion dollars in the 8-month period. While the volume of foreign trade exceeded 404 billion dollars in the 8th month of the year, the foreign trade deficit also reached 73.4 billion dollars.