Türkiye’s central bank is working to continue to increase rediscount loan limits for exporters after a 10-fold rise earlier this year, its governor said Friday.
The limit was increased to TL 3 billion ($103.53 million) from TL 1.5 billion in September. In July, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) lifted the limit for extending these loans from TL 300 million.
“We will further increase the rediscount limit, which was raised to TL 3 billion with a 10-fold increase in July. Our efforts are ongoing,” CBRT Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan told a meeting with the business community in the capital, Ankara.
The government has been seeking ways to curb the stubborn trade imbalance by lowering dependence on imports and boosting exports.
Erkan also highlighted recent changes in rediscount credit utilization. She pointed out that the condition requiring firms using rediscount credits to sell at least 30% of their export proceeds to banks had been halted.
Yet, she reminded the commitment not to purchase foreign exchange during the rediscount loan period and the exception for foreign exchange purchases within the scope of import payments is still in effect.
The government endorses policies to shift from chronic deficits to a current account surplus through more robust exports and investments.
The current account is the most complete measure of trade because it includes investment flows and trade in merchandise and services. A deficit means Türkiye is consuming more from overseas than it is selling abroad.
The gap stood at $40.8 billion in the January-September period. The 12-month rolling deficit amounted to $51.7 billion. The government’s medium-term program sees it at nearly $43 billion at the end of the year.
Türkiye’s exports hit nearly $233 billion in the first 11 months of this year, increasing by 0.7% from 2022. Inbound shipments rose 0.5% to $332.8 billion, according to official data.
The trade gap stood at $99.8 billion in January-November, unchanged from a year ago.
