Türkiye’s exports and imports both dropped in June, official data showed Monday, attributed to a nine-day holiday covering the last week of the month that halted orders and deliveries.
Outbound shipments fell some 11% year-over-year to $20.9 billion, according to preliminary data from the Trade Ministry. The ministry said the fall mainly came from a loss in working days due to the Qurban Bayram, or Eid al-Adha.
The holiday generally lasts four days, but Türkiye extended the break to cover nine days from June 24 through July 2.
The data showed that imports in June dropped more, falling by almost 17% from a year ago to $26.3 billion, marking the lowest level in nearly two years.
“Although we set a daily export record with $2.12 billion on June 23, the loss of working days due to the Eid al-Adha holiday had a negative impact on June exports,” said Mustafa Gültepe, the head of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM).
The decline, alongside a drop in energy imports, narrowed Türkiye’s trade deficit by an annual 35% to $5.4 billion.
Energy import bills plummeted 45.3% annually to $4.4 billion in June, thanks to a decline in energy prices. However, Türkiye’s gold purchases remained strong, jumping by almost 63% year-over-year to $2 billion.
The ministry expected the balance to improve in the coming months, promising unspecified additional steps to slow imports and boost exports even amid “stagnation in the global economy.”
The export-import coverage ratio increased 5.6 percentage points year-over-year to 79.5% in June, the ministry said.
Germany, Türkiye’s top export market, received nearly $1.8 billion worth of Turkish goods in June, followed by the United States with $1.3 billion, the United Kingdom and Italy with $1 billion each and Iraq with $987 million.
On the other hand, China was the main source of imports with $3.8 billion, followed by Russia with almost $3 billion, Germany with $2.1 billion, Switzerland with $1.4 billion and the U.S. with $1.1 billion.
In January-June, exports fell 1.8% year-over-year to $123.4 billion, the data showed. Imports, on the other hand, rose 4.3% from a year earlier to $184.8 billion.
The foreign trade gap reached $61.4 billion in the first half, up 19.1% from last year's period.
Türkiye’s motor vehicle exports totaled $15.1 billion, surging 16.4% from last year, while nonelectrical machinery exports rose 15.6% to $12.5 billion, the ministry said.
Among other major sectors stood electrical machinery, which made shipments totaling $7.5 billion, a 14.7% hike.
Germany topped the list of biggest export markets in January-June with $10.7 billion. It was followed by the U.S. with $7.4 billion, Italy with $6.2 billion, the U.K. with $5.9 billion and Russia with $5.8 billion.
Most of the inbound shipments over the six months came from Russia, at $24.8 billion, the data showed.
China was the second-largest exporter to Türkiye, with $22.3 billion, Germany with $13.4 billion, Switzerland with $11.8 billion and the U.S. with $7.6 billion.
Türkiye looks to lift its annual exports to $265 billion this year, according to the officials. If achieved, it would mark a third consecutive yearly record in shipments. Türkiye made exports worth over $254 billion in 2022, lifting the previous record of nearly $225.4 billion in 2021. Sales were hit by the coronavirus pandemic and dropped to as low as $169.5 billion in 2020.
