Exports surge and trade deficit narrows nearly 30 pct in April

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s exports in April increased by 22.3 percent compared to the same month last year, reaching $25.4 billion, according to data from the Trade Ministry.

Imports rose by 3.1 percent to $33.9 billion and the foreign trade deficit decreased by 29.8 percent year-on-year to $8.5 billion.

As of April, annualized exports reached a record high of $275.8 billion, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said in a post on X.

“In the second quarter, amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, there will be seasonal fluctuations in the foreign trade outlook due to calendar effects,” he said.

“In this period of challenging global conditions, we continue to support sectors that bring foreign currency into our country and the transformation in production, while taking structural steps to enhance competitiveness,” Şimşek added.

Trade Minister Ömer Bolat separately announced that April recorded the second highest and the highest April exports of all time.

“The export increase in April, both in terms of rate and absolute value, was the month with the highest export growth in the last 52 months, that is, since November 2021,” he said.

Bolat stated that despite sharp increases in commodity prices in January and February, cost pressures triggered by the energy crisis and geopolitical tensions in the region, goods and services exports rose to $398 billion annually as of April.

Reminding that exports declined in March on an annual basis due to the Ramadan month and calendar effects, Bolat said that the recovery recorded in April was achieved thanks to the rapid recovery in the Gulf market, demand expansion in 166 countries, the rising share of medium-high and high-tech products, the return of double-digit growth in labor-intensive sectors, public support and the shift of logistics demand to Türkiye.

“This year, Eid al-Adha falls in May, and there will be a long holiday period. Therefore, export figures will be significantly negatively affected. But hopefully, we will more than compensate for this in June,” Bolat said.

The trade data showed that in April, Germany was the largest export market with $2.1 billion, followed by the U.S. with $1.6 billion and Italy with $1.4 billion.

The countries with the highest imports were China with $4.5 billion, Russia with $2.6 billion and Germany with $2.6 billion.

In the January-April period, compared to the same period last year, exports increased by 3 percent to $88.6 billion, while imports rose by 4.3 percent to $125.8 billion. The foreign trade deficit increased by 7.4 percent to $37.2 billion.