Türkiye's exports rose 8.1% to $23.5 billion (TL 1.14 trillion) in August, reaching an all-time high for the month, a top official said on Thursday, also announcing that the eight-month cumulative figure, as well as the annualized figures, reached fresh records.
"In August, our exports rose by 8.1% compared to the same month of last year, reaching $23.5 billion. Thus, we achieved the highest August export figure," Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said while announcing preliminary foreign trade data for the month.
"This is the third-highest growth rate after the 21% increase in April and the 22% increase in June," he added.
"Although August is considered a vacation month in the West, this increase is truly a great achievement. This growth amounts to $1.766 billion," the minister said.
Speaking at the event in Ankara, Bolat also said exports from the country hit a record high of $185 billion in the January-August period, up 4%.
He also noted that annualized exports reached $280.3 billion as of August, breaking the record in the republic's history.
Starting his presentation on the data, Bolat also reflected on recently announced growth figures and inflation.
He highlighted that Türkiye's economy accelerated starting from the second quarter, achieving growth rates of 2.3% in the second quarter and 2.5% in the first half of the year.
He also stated that Türkiye's national income exceeded $1.7 trillion in the first half of the year, hitting its highest level ever.
He also pointed out the contribution of exports to growth, suggesting that net goods and services exports contributed 0.6 percentage points to economic growth in the second quarter.
Bolat recalled that the country's credit default swap (CDS) premium fell to 217.5 as of Sept. 2, marking the lowest level in the last five months.
He stated that the country is expected to reach an export figure of $282 billion at the end of the year.
Bolat added that annualized services exports rose to $125 billion as of August.
"Compared to $122.5 billion in January, we see an increase of $2.5 billion. Here, too, our target is $128 billion by the end of the year," he said.
"Despite wars and adverse global developments, all service sectors, including tourism, transportation, education, health, consultancy, information technology, film, and exhibition services, are performing successfully," Bolat said.
He concluded that annualized goods and services exports totaled $405.3 billion.
At the same time, data shared by the Trade Ministry showed that imports increased 10.5% year-over-year to $28.7 billion in the month.
