Turkey Exports Rise 18%

Turkey’s exports started the year with a significant increase, the Turkish Statistical Institute TurkStat said on Tuesday. Turkey’s exports in the first month of the year stood at $11.3 billion, an 18.1% increase year-on-year. Imports also rose to $15.6 billion, an almost 16% rise, Anadolu Agency reported. TurkStat said the country’s foreign trade deficit increased by 10.3% in January year-on-year, amounting to $4.3 billion. The country’s exports to the EU—Turkey’s main trading partner—increased by 12% in January to reach over $5.3 billion. Germany, the EU’s largest economy, was the largest receiver of Turkish goods in the month, in trade worth over $1.1 billion; Iraq followed with $684 million of imports from Turkey. Turkey imported around $1.9 billion in goods from China in January. Russia was the second-largest exporter to the country, with almost $1.5 billion for the month and Germany came third with almost $1.2 billion.