Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek announced Saturday that the annual improvement in the foreign trade deficit reached a total of $13.2 billion (TL 414.35 billion) in the first two months of the year, highlighting that the economy is still in the process of “balancing.”
Evaluating the foreign trade data for February in a post on his social media account, Şimşek said: “The program is working. The annual improvement in the foreign trade deficit reached a total of $13.2 billion in January and February.”
“Balancing in the economy continues. We expect a positive contribution from net exports to growth in the first quarter.”
According to the general trade system data, evaluated by Anadolu Agency (AA), in the January-February period the country’s exports rose by 8.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching $41.1 billion, while imports decreased by 15.5% to $54.3 billion.
In the said period, the foreign trade deficit decreased by 49.9% to $13.2 billion, while the exports-imports coverage ratio was calculated as 75.6%.
Earlier on Saturday, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced February’s data and said Türkiye’s monthly exports surged to $21.1 billion, up 13.6% year-over-year.
The data from the country’s statistical institute earlier this week showed the foreign trade deficit narrowed by 56.4% year-over-year to nearly $6.3 billion in January, down from $14.29 billion in the same month last year.
The government sees exports as one of the key areas it looks to rely on to curb chronic current account deficits and ensure sustainable economic growth.
The country’s total exports reached a historic high of $255.8 billion in 2023, up 0.6% year-over-year, while authorities expect shipments to reach $267 billion by the end of this year.
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