Turkiye's foreign trade deficit hits $7.9B in February

ANKARA

Turkiye’s foreign trade deficit reached $7.9 billion in February, the statistical authority announced Thursday

The gap widened significantly -- 135.5% from the corresponding month last year -- due to a surge in prices of energy which constitutes nearly one-third of Turkiye's imports, TurkStat said in a statement.

Turkish exports advanced 25.4% year-on-year to just over $20 billion in February, while imports boomed 44.5% to reach $27.9 billion.

The export-to-import coverage ratio rose to 82.7% last month, versus 71.7% a year ago

This February, the country's main trading partner Germany received $1.8 billion worth of Turkish exports.

It was followed by the US with $1.3 billion, UK with $1.1 billion, and Italy with $1.09 million, TurkStat said.

On the other side of the ledger, the top country for Turkiye's imports last month was Russia with $3.9 billion, followed by China with $3.2 billion, Germany with $1.9 billion, and the US with $1.1 million.

In January-February, Turkiye's foreign trade deficit shot up by 183.1% on an annual basis to $18.2 billion.

The country's exports stood at $37.6 billion, up by 21.4%, while imports totaled $55.7 billion, rising 49.2% during the two-month period.