Increase in exports by 4.3% to $178.1 billion recorded in the first eight months

The Turkish Trade Ministry recently released the trade figures for August 2023, providing insights into the country's international trade activities.

In August, Turkey's exports amounted to $21.8 billion, a slight decrease of 0.9% compared to the same month last year. However, the value of exports for the first eight months of the year increased by 4.3%, reaching $178.1 billion. The United States was the second-largest export market for Turkey in August, with a value of $1.28 billion, while Germany topped the list with exports worth $1.81 billion. The United Kingdom and Italy rounded out the top five export markets, with values of $1.08 billion and $1.06 billion, respectively. Iraq was the third-largest export market, with a value of $1.11 billion.

On the import side, Turkey's total imports for August 2023 were $25.96 billion, a rise of 3.9% year-on-year. For the first eight months of the year, imports reached a total of $238.2 billion, marking a 5.6% increase compared to the same period last year. China was the largest import source, accounting for $4.02 billion in August, followed by Russia with $3.35 billion.

The foreign trade gap for August 2023 was $4.16 billion, a significant narrowing of 16.7% compared to the previous month. Despite this improvement, the January-August foreign trade gap widened by 9.6% to reach $60 billion.

The top import countries for Turkey in the first eight months of the year were China (approximately 15.0% of total imports), Russia (around 12.7%), and Germany (about 8.7%). In the same period, Turkey's export-import coverage ratio dropped to 74.8% from 75.7% in the same period last year.

However, there was a positive development in the export-import coverage ratio for August 2023, which increased to 83.9% from the previous month's 81.5%. This indicates that exports covered a higher proportion of imports in August compared to the previous month. Moreover, the top 10 export markets accounted for approximately 46% of total exports in August 2023.

In conclusion, while Turkey's foreign trade gap widened in the January-August period, there were signs of improvement in August, with a narrowing of the trade deficit and a higher export-import coverage ratio. The country's trade performance continues to be shaped by its relationships with key trading partners, and the trend will likely continue to be monitored closely.