Türkiye's trade gap widens by 24.9% in November

ANKARA

Türkiye's trade gap grew by 24.9% year-on-year to $7.5 billion in November, with a decline in exports while imports increased, according to official data released on Tuesday.

Exports fell 3.1% from a year ago to $22.3 billion in November, while imports rose 2.7% to $29.8 billion, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed.

Excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, foreign trade deficit rose slightly by 0.1% to $20.8 billion in November.

The exports-to-imports coverage ratio slipped to 74.9% in November, from 79.4% in the same month last year.

Türkiye's shipments to its main trading partner Germany totaled $1.7 billion, followed by the US with $1.5 billion, UK $1.4 billion, Italy $1.2 billion, and Iraq $1.09 billion.

Russia was the top source of Türkiye's imports last month with $4 billion, followed by China $3.6 billion, Germany $2.3 billion, Italy $2 billion, and Switzerland $1.3 billion.

Year to date figure

In January-November period, Türkiye's overseas shipments rose 2.5% at an annualized pace to $238.5 billion.

Its imports, on the other hand, dropped 6.3% to $311.8 billion in the same period.

The country's foreign trade deficit narrowed by 26.8% year-on-year to $73.3 billion in the first 11 months of 2024.