Turkish exports have hit an all-time monthly high for the fourth consecutive month in March, the country’s trade minister announced Thursday.

Sales soared by 42.2% year-on-year in the month to $18.98 billion (TL 154.43 billion), Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan told a meeting in the capital Ankara. Imports were up 25.8% to $23.68 billion, she noted.

"This is a victory for our exporters," Pekcan said.

The country’s foreign trade deficit shrank 14.2% on an annual basis, the minister noted, narrowing to $4.7 billion from $5.5 billion a year ago.

Excluding energy, the gap stood at $1.9 billion, marking a 39.2% drop compared to last year.

The export-to-import coverage ratio was 80.2% in the month, a 9.2 point increase year-on-year, the data showed.

The March figure followed record-high figures in December, January and February when sales reached around $17.8 billion, $15 billion and $16 billion, respectively.

Sales last month also surpassed those of March 2019, a month and year that marked the highest exports ever made by the country, Pekcan said.

The coronavirus pandemic led to a 6.26% drop in 2020 exports as Turkey closed the year with $169.5 billion in foreign sales, exceeding the target of $165.9 billion in the medium-term program.

Imports were up 4.3% to reach $219.4 billion. The trade deficit widened by 69.12% to $49.9 billion last year.

The country looks to achieve a year-end target of $184 billion, up from $169.5 billion in 2020.

Also addressing the meeting, Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) head Ismail Gülle said they could reach numbers much higher than the current target, pointing to around $200 billion as a potential figure.

Best first quarter sales ever

Exports from January through March of this year have surged 17.3% year-on-year to over $50 billion, also marking the highest first-quarter figure ever, Pekcan said.

It followed the same sales figure in the last quarter of 2020, when exports came above the level of $50 billion for the first time on a quarterly basis.

Imports were up 9.7% to $61 billion in the three-month period of this year. The foreign trade gap has thus narrowed 15.2% to $11 billion, down from some $13 billion from a year ago, the minister noted.

Excluding energy, the gap came in at $3.9 billion, according to the data, marking a 15.3% year-on-year fall.

Below are details of data on March exports: