Turkey Trade Deficit Widens 85%

Turkey’s trade deficit widened by 85% to $8.14 billion in September from the same period a year earlier, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed, Anadolu Agency reported. In September 2017 compared to the same month of last year, Turkey’s exports rose 8.7% to $11.8 billion while imports climbed to $19.9 billion—a 30.6% hike. The country’s foreign trade volume reached $284 billion between January and September this year, marking a 13.4% annual increase, according to provisional data produced by TUIK and the customs and trade ministry. Imports climbed 15.5% to around $169 billion, amounting to a foreign trade deficit of $53.8 billion over the same period. Official data showed the percentage of imports covered by exports was 68.1 in the nine-month period. Compared with the same month of the previous year, exports to the EU28 increased by 7.9% in September, from $5.46 billion to $5.9 billion. However, the proportional share of exports for EU countries was 49.8% in September 2017, while it was 50.2% in September 2016, according to the TUIK data.