Türkiye's exports registered the highest February volume ever, official data showed Saturday, building to the positive momentum observed in the past couple of months, which also saw the nation to round 2023 with a record of $255.8 billion in outbound shipments.
The exports from the country soared 13.6% year-over-year to $21.1 billion in February, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat told an event in southeastern Adıyaman province to announce the preliminary trade figures.
"Thus, we reached the highest export value in the history of the republic for the month of February," said Bolat.
"Our imports, on the other hand, decreased by 8.5% to $28.1 billion. This is also a great success," he added.
The trade gap – the difference between what Türkiye sells and what it buys in foreign markets – continued to narrow significantly in February, the data showed, while the minister also highlighted the total decline in the deficit observed in the past nine months.
The government endorses policies aimed at shifting from chronic deficits to a current account surplus through more robust exports and investments.
Bolat pointed out that the foreign trade deficit in February dropped by 42.3% compared to the same month last year and fell to $7 billion.
The export-import coverage ratio also increased by 14.6 points to 75.1%, he said.
"As of the end of February, our annualized exports reached $258.7 billion. (This figure) was $255.8 billion at the end of December," he noted.
Moreover, the minister noted that exporters achieved an extra $3 billion from shipments in the first two months.
Providing information regarding the annualized foreign trade figures, he stated that the annualized trade deficit stood at $93 billion as of the end of February and said, "We came to this level from $122 billion in May. We reduced our foreign trade deficit by approximately $29 billion in nine months."
GDP, per-capita income figures
Recalling that Türkiye closed 2023 with a real growth of 4.5%, Bolat said, "We reached a national income of $1.12 trillion for the first time in the 100-year history of the Republic of Türkiye, breaking the $1 trillion barrier. We also reached the highest figure in the history of the republic in per capita national income, $13,110."
He also drew attention to the fact that Türkiye ranked first among European Union countries, second among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, and fourth among G-20 countries in terms of growth performance.
Emphasizing the loss in exports of some $6 billion that occurred due to devastating earthquakes last year, the minister noted that last year's annual export figure could have been even higher wasn't it for tremor-related disruptions.
He also cited that the current account deficit, which was at the level of $60.2 billion in May last year shrunk to $45.2 billion at the end of December, hoping for the fall to continue in the upcoming period.
Evaluating the trade figures, the head of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) Mustafa Gültepe, said, "We are at a 13.6% increase compared to 2023. Of course, we experienced a serious contraction in exports last year due to the earthquake, but we can say it is 6% above (the level) in 2022."
Underscoring the "critical role" that production and exports play in the earthquake region, Gültepe highlighted that there are nearly 9,000 exporting companies operating in the area.
Despite the great destruction caused by the earthquake, he said over $19 billion of exports were achieved in the 11 quake-affected provinces.
"In the first two months of this year, we see that our provinces in the disaster area have increased their total exports. Hopefully, we will spread this success throughout the year," noted Gültepe.
He also informed that the automotive industry ranked first in February exports with $3.1 billion, followed by chemicals with $2.6 billion, ready-to-wear clothing with $1.5 billion, steel with $1.4 billion and the electrical-electronics sector with $1.3 billion.