Turkey’s trade deficit falls 17 pct in first eight months of 2016 thanks to oil slump
ANKARA
Turkey’s foreign trade gap declined 17.3 percent in the first eight months of the year to $37.5 billion compared to the same period of 2015, mainly thanks to the ongoing oil slump. The country’s trade deficit regressed to $4.69 billion in August, a 5.3 percent decline compared to the same month of 2015, preliminary data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) showed on Sept. 30.
While exports rose by 7.7 percent to $11.87 billion in August, imports increased 3.7 percent to $16.55 billion compared to the same month of 2015.
The country’s exports saw a decline of around 2.4 percent year-on-year, standing at 93.3 billion in the first eight months of the year. Imports were announced at $130.85 billion in the January-August period, a 7.2 percent decline from the same period of 2015, showed the TÜİK data.
Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said their main aim was to achieve sustainable growth in exports again and create products with high added value to raise competitiveness in global markets.
Saying that the decrease in Turkey’s exports was limited to 2.4 percent in the first eight months of the year, Zeybekci tweeted: “This contraction was recorded in conjunction with the rising pessimism of global trade, as well as the intensified political/economic risks.”
He also underlined that the European Union was still Turkey’s most prominent trading partner, while also noting that the country would continue to reach a wider array of markets.
The share of the EU in Turkey’s exports rose to 46.5 percent in August from 44 percent in the same month of 2015.
Turkey’s largest export destination in August was Germany, with goods and services worth $1.19 billion, followed by the U.K. ($0.92 billion), Iraq ($0.7 billion) and the U.S. ($0.6 billion).
Turkey’s energy imports were announced at $17.4 billion in the first eight months of the year, down from around $26 billion in the same period of 2015, mainly due to continuing lower energy prices.
While exports rose by 7.7 percent to $11.87 billion in August, imports increased 3.7 percent to $16.55 billion compared to the same month of 2015.
The country’s exports saw a decline of around 2.4 percent year-on-year, standing at 93.3 billion in the first eight months of the year. Imports were announced at $130.85 billion in the January-August period, a 7.2 percent decline from the same period of 2015, showed the TÜİK data.
Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said their main aim was to achieve sustainable growth in exports again and create products with high added value to raise competitiveness in global markets.
Saying that the decrease in Turkey’s exports was limited to 2.4 percent in the first eight months of the year, Zeybekci tweeted: “This contraction was recorded in conjunction with the rising pessimism of global trade, as well as the intensified political/economic risks.”
He also underlined that the European Union was still Turkey’s most prominent trading partner, while also noting that the country would continue to reach a wider array of markets.
The share of the EU in Turkey’s exports rose to 46.5 percent in August from 44 percent in the same month of 2015.
Turkey’s largest export destination in August was Germany, with goods and services worth $1.19 billion, followed by the U.K. ($0.92 billion), Iraq ($0.7 billion) and the U.S. ($0.6 billion).
Turkey’s energy imports were announced at $17.4 billion in the first eight months of the year, down from around $26 billion in the same period of 2015, mainly due to continuing lower energy prices.
