Turkey's Trade Deficit Shrinks 10.5% Year-on-Year to $5.91 Billion in October

In October, the foreign trade deficit decreased by 10.5% year-on-year, declining from 6.603 billion dollars to 5.909 billion dollars. According to the general trade system, exports increased by 3.1%, while imports remained unchanged. The preliminary foreign trade data produced in cooperation with the Turkish Statistical Institute and the Ministry of Trade indicate that in October 2024, exports increased by 3.1% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 23.5 billion dollars, while imports remained unchanged at 29.409 billion dollars.

From January to October, exports rose by 3.1%, while imports decreased by 7.2%. Under the general trade system, exports during this period amounted to 216.195 billion dollars, marking a 3.1% increase compared to the same period the previous year, while imports fell to 282.049 billion dollars, a decrease of 7.2%.

For the month of October 2024, excluding energy products and gold, exports increased by 7.2%, and imports rose by 2.4%. Exports, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, increased from 20.565 billion dollars to 22.055 billion dollars. Conversely, imports excluding energy products and non-monetary gold increased from 22.151 billion dollars to 22.682 billion dollars. The foreign trade deficit excluding these items was recorded at 627 million dollars. The total foreign trade volume rose by 4.7%, amounting to 44.737 billion dollars. In this month, the ratio of exports excluding energy and gold meeting imports was 97.2%.

The foreign trade deficit in October decreased by 10.5%. The deficit narrowed from 6.603 billion dollars to 5.909 billion dollars year-on-year. The coverage ratio of exports to imports was 77.5% in October 2023 and rose to 79.9% in October 2024.

In the January-October period, the foreign trade deficit decreased by 30.1%, falling from 94.267 billion dollars to 65.853 billion dollars. The coverage ratio of exports to imports increased from 69.0% in January-October 2023 to 76.7% in the same period of 2024.

In October, the share of the manufacturing sector in total exports was 93.3%. In terms of economic activities, in October 2024, the share of manufacturing in exports was 93.3%, while the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sectors contributed 3.6%, and the mining and quarrying sectors made up 2.5%.

In the January-October period, the manufacturing sector's share in exports was 94.2%, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries accounted for 3.5%, and mining and quarrying represented 1.8%.

In October, the share of intermediate goods in total imports was 68.2%. According to the classification of broad economic groups, in October 2024, the share of intermediate goods in imports was 68.2%, capital goods accounted for 14.3%, and consumer goods made up 17.4%. In the January-October period, the shares were 69.4% for intermediate goods, 14.9% for capital goods, and 15.6% for consumer goods.

In October, Germany was the top export destination. Exports to Germany reached 1.795 billion dollars, followed by the USA at 1.562 billion dollars, the United Kingdom at 1.294 billion dollars, Iraq at 1.236 billion dollars, and Italy at 1.159 billion dollars. The exports to the top five countries accounted for 30.0% of total exports.

In the January-October period, Germany again ranked first in exports with 17.097 billion dollars, followed by the USA with 13.381 billion dollars, the United Kingdom with 12.490 billion dollars, Iraq with 10.762 billion dollars, and Italy with 10.537 billion dollars. The exports to these five countries constituted 29.7% of total exports.

China took the lead in imports. In October, imports from China amounted to 4.242 billion dollars, followed by the Russian Federation at 3.117 billion dollars, Germany at 2.346 billion dollars, Italy at 1.772 billion dollars, and the USA at 1.278 billion dollars. The imports from the top five countries represented 43.4% of total imports.

In the January-October period, China remained first in imports with 37.423 billion dollars, followed by the Russian Federation at 35.499 billion dollars, Germany at 22.186 billion dollars, Italy at 15.585 billion dollars, and the USA at 13.526 billion dollars. The imports from these five countries accounted for 44.0% of total imports.

According to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data, exports increased by 0.5%. In October 2024, exports rose by 0.5% from the previous month, while imports increased by 3.1%. Calendar adjusted data indicated that in October 2024, compared to the same month the previous year, exports increased by 0.2% while imports decreased by 1.1%.

The share of high-tech products in manufacturing sector exports was 3.6%. Trade data by technology intensity for manufacturing industries fall within ISIC Rev.4 classification. In October, the share of manufacturing products in total exports was 93.3%. High-tech products accounted for 3.6% of manufacturing sector exports. In the January-October period, manufacturing products had a share of 94.2%, while high-tech products constituted 3.4% of manufacturing sector exports.

In October, the share of manufacturing products in total imports was 84.8%. High-tech products made up 9.7% of manufacturing sector imports. In the January-October period, the share of manufacturing products in total imports was 81.8%, with high-tech products constituting 11.0% of manufacturing sector imports.

According to the special trade system, exports in October 2024 amounted to 21.459 billion dollars, an increase of 3.9% compared to the same month of the previous year. Imports decreased by 0.7% to 27.351 billion dollars. The foreign trade deficit decreased by 14.5%, falling from 6.891 billion dollars to 5.892 billion dollars. The coverage ratio of exports to imports went up from 75.0% in October 2023 to 78.5% in October 2024.

In the January-October period of 2024, exports amounted to 195.818 billion dollars according to the special trade system, representing a 2.8% increase from the same period in the previous year, while imports decreased by 7.6% to 262.536 billion dollars. The foreign trade deficit marginally decreased by 28.8%, from 93.699 billion dollars to 66.718 billion dollars. The export coverage ratio rose from 67.0% in January-October 2023 to 74.6% in the same period of 2024.

Special trade data for foreign trade in October 2024.