Turkish exports rose 8% to $20.5 billion (TL 815.71 billion) in June, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced on Wednesday, also suggesting that this was the highest annual export increase in the past year.
The country's 12-month rolling exports, meanwhile, hit a historic high of $267 billion in June, by increasing 3.2%, Bolat told a news conference in Istanbul to announce preliminary foreign trade figures.
The minister lauded the increase in exports, which he said came at a time when many countries' exports decreased, world trade went through a period of stagnation and remained below the average of previous years.
Imports of goods were up by 15.3% compared to the same month last year, reaching $28.7 billion, he also informed.
The country's foreign trade gap was thus at $8.2 billion in June, while the export-import coverage ratio was 71.5%.
"Our exports increased by 8% in June (compared to the same month last year) and reached $20.5 billion. I sincerely congratulate all our exporters. Let's not forget that Qurban Bayram, also known as Eid al-Adha, has an effect here. We had the opportunity to work two more days compared to last year's Eid al-Adha. I must say that the calendar effect also had a positive effect on this," he said.
"There were increases in our monthly exports in five out of six months. We are trying to accumulate our exports month by month. This 8% increase, which is pleasing, has gone down in history as the highest monthly increase rate of the last year," he added.
From January to June, exports rose 4.1% to $131.4 billion, Bolat also said, while imports totaled $180.9 billion, up 7.2% year-on-year. Like this, it was revealed that the country ran a foreign trade deficit of $49.4 billion in the six months.
"As of June, we have reached the record figure of $267 billion in our annual exports. This means a 3.2% surge. We took over from $261.8 billion on Jan. 1, and increased by $5.2 billion, and together we have reached $267 billion," he explained.
On the side of imports, Bolat said that they remained below $30 billion in June, highlighting that "staying below $30 billion on average is an important threshold for us in terms of keeping imports under control."
He attributed the rise in imports to the shorter Bayram holiday compared to last year, along with the increase in energy and gold prices due to Israel's attacks on Iran.
"We observed that import orders suddenly increased for raw copper, raw aluminum, cocoa, coffee and other raw materials. This is among the reasons for the increase in imports in June," he explained.
Services exports
Moreover, Bolat recalled that their target for service exports this year is $121 billion and said: "In April, we made $8.5 billion of service exports with an 8.1% increase. We made $30 billion in exports in the first four months. This means a 4.3% increase."
"According to our estimates, we reached $117 billion of annualized service exports as of June. In January-June, we made $54.3 billion of service exports with an estimated 6.7% increase," he added.
The minister also reiterated that total exports of goods and services generated $377 billion in foreign currency for the country last year. "This year, we had a target of $390 billion," he added.
Top export destinations
Also providing information on the top destinations of exports, Bolat listed the countries as Germany, the U.K., the U.S., Italy and Iraq.
"We have an 8% increase in exports to the EU in the first six months. There is a 2.3% uptick (in shipments) to the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), a 5.3% surge (in exports) to the members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and a 5.7% increase to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries," he revealed.
"Our highest increase in the first half was to the U.K., with $1.1 billion. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in second place with $830 million, and Germany is in third place with $719 million. We see Slovenia and Greece after that," the minister further said.
"Despite the challenges of global conditions, exports maintain their resilient structure. The current account deficit is occurring in line with our forecasts while continuing to remain at sustainable levels," Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said separately on X.
"In April, the risk premium (CDS), which had risen to 381 basis points, fell to 283 basis points. The two-year benchmark bond yield also dropped from 49% to below 40%," he added.
"With the disinflation process, we expect domestic financial conditions to improve further in the coming period."