Turkish exports declined 6.4% in March, while imports surged 8.4% compared to a year earlier, a top official said Thursday, announcing the preliminary trade data, which thus indicated that the country's trade gap widened over the same time.
Exports totaled $21.9 billion (TL 974.49 billion) in March, down 6.4% from a year earlier, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said at a gathering organized in the eastern province of Van. Imports stood at $33.2 billion, according to the minister.
Consequently, the country's foreign trade deficit widened 56.6% year-over-year to $11.3 billion in March, while the exports-to-imports coverage ratio stood at 66.1%, he added.
In the January-March period, exports fell 3.1% annually to nearly $63.3 billion, while imports increased 4.7% to $92 billion, he also said.
The foreign trade deficit in the first three months of the year rose 27.5% from a year ago to $28.7 billion, with the exports-to-imports coverage ratio at 68.8%.
Elaborating on the data, Bolat attributed the decline in exports to the war conditions, the long holiday period, and the calendar effect, referring to the Eid al-Fitr holiday and shipments varying according to the days of the week.
"When this happens, it negatively affects exports in particular. There is also a $350 million decrease in gold exports as processed products," he said.
Bolat also stated that there is "a fluctuating trend" in exports this year when looking at the first three months, adding that it is likely to continue this way. "We will close this gap in April, but again in May there is a long holiday, and in June we will compensate. It will continue like this," he added.
Moreover, he informed that on a 12-month rolling basis covering April 2025 to March 2026, exports rose 3% to $271.3 billion and imports climbed 6.3% to $369.6 billion. The foreign trade gap in the period increased 16.4% to $98.3 billion, while the coverage ratio was 73.4%.
According to the data, Germany was Türkiye's top export destination in March with $1.8 billion, followed by the U.S. with $1.4 billion and Italy with $1.3 billion.
On this, Bolat said that the European Union "once again stood out as Türkiye's strongest foreign trade partner."
"Our exports reached $28.3 billion in the first three months. Türkiye gained a trade surplus of $1.4 billion with the EU," he furthered.
By sectors, manufacturing accounted for the largest share of exports in March at $20.5 billion, while agriculture, forestry, and fishing contributed $800 million and mining and quarrying $400 million.
By broad economic categories, intermediate goods made up the largest portion of exports at $11.6 billion, followed by consumer goods at $6.7 billion and investment goods at $3.1 billion.
Sector-wise, the automotive industry was the top exporting sector in March, with exports reaching $3.3 billion. Chemicals and chemical products ranked second with $3 billion, while the steel sector came in third with $1.6 billion.
Excluding energy and gold, Türkiye's exports-to-imports coverage ratio came in at 78.9% in March, while the top 10 export markets accounted for 46% of total exports.
