Turkish exporters have managed to achieve yet another all-time monthly high in May, the fifth record in a row that has been clouded by a soaring trade deficit, as energy import costs continue to widen the shortfall.
Foreign sales jumped 15.2% year-over-year to $19 billion last month, Trade Minister Mehmet Muş told a meeting in the capital Ankara to announce the preliminary trade data.
"We have continued our strong performance in exports in May as well," Muş said. "In 2022, we reached the highest monthly export values in all of the first five months."
Yet, the January-May period has been marked by a widening trade deficit fueled by increasing energy costs.
Imports rose 43.8% from a year ago to $29.7 billion last month, Muş said, with energy accounting for a whopping $6.9 billion.
That pushed the foreign trade deficit to a fresh record high of $10.7 billion, a 157% increase from a year ago.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent global commodity prices soaring, endangering Ankara's new economic program that aims to tackle high inflation with a current account surplus.
The January-May exports jumped 20.4% year-over-year to $102.5 billion, while imports were up nearly 41% to $145.74 billion, the data showed.
Foreign trade volume increased by more than a third from a year ago to $248.24 billion.
Germany remained the top market as it received nearly $1.5 billion worth of Turkish goods last month, a 6% growth from a year ago, the data showed.
The U.S. came in second with $1.27 billion, a 10.4% year-over-year increase, and Iraq ranked third with $978 million in a 44.1% rise from a year ago.
In contrast, most imports were made from Russia, totaling nearly $4.5 billion, a 117.8% year-over-year increase.
It was followed by China, from where imports increased nearly 23% to $3.23 billion, and Germany, from where purchases jumped 11.1% to $1.98 billion, the data showed.
Marching toward $250 billion target
Sales to 27 European Union member states – where half of Turkey’s exports go – jumped 17.4% year-over-year to over $8 billion. Imports, on the other hand, were up 16.3% to $7.84 billion.
Exports to Near and the Middle East countries were up by more than a third to $3.16 billion, according to the data.
Turkish exporters have managed to achieve records in 19 of the last 21 months, said Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) Chair Ismail Gülle.
Exports had ended 2021 at $225.4 billion, a figure that government and economists expect to reach $250 billion this year. Gülle stressed views that the goal would be reached even before year-end.
The 12-month rolling export figure reached $242.6 billion as of May, Muş said.
To reach the year-end target, exporters had to increase their foreign sales by $10 billion in the first five months, Gülle said.
"As a result of the latest figures, we have plus $17 billion on the way to $250 billion," he noted.
The chemical industry again outpaced the automotive sector as it hit $2.8 billion in exports to rank first in May, a 30.7 year-over-year increase.
The automotive industry followed with $2.3 billion, a 22.4% jump from a year ago, and the steel sector with $1.9 billion, an increase of 11% compared to the same month of 2021.