Türkiye's foreign trade deficit fell by 12.4% on an annual basis in March, official data showed Tuesday, as a downward trend maintains a pace that officials attribute to the government policies sought to curb chronic shortfalls.

The trade gap narrowed to $7.3 billion (TL 236.38 billion), the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said. Exports dropped by 4.1% to $22.57 billion and imports fell by 6.3% to $29.9 billion.

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek attributed the fall in the deficit to policies under the government's medium-term program, unveiled in September.

"Our program is working," Şimşek wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

"The improving trend in the annual foreign trade deficit has been uninterrupted for eight months," he said.

The economic program seeks to help rein in persistently elevated inflation, rebuild foreign exchange reserves, and flip chronic current account and budget deficits to surpluses.

Türkiye walked away from years of easing policy after last year's presidential and parliamentary elections and delivered aggressive monetary tightening, mainly seeking to cool domestic demand, the main driver of inflation.

From January through March, the foreign trade gap narrowed by 41.5% to $20.3 billion, down from $34.7 billion, TurkStat said.

Exports rose by 3.6% to $65.6 billion in the quarter compared to a year ago, while imports dropped by 12.8% to $83.9 billion.

The exports-imports coverage ratio was at 75.8%, increasing from 63.8% in the same period last year.

Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said the government continues to uphold its determination to advance the country's foreign trade with its export-oriented growth strategy.

"In addition, we continue to utilize all available resources to maintain the steady decline in the current account deficit and even aim to elevate our country to a position of being a net exporter, potentially closing the deficit entirely in the future," Bolat wrote on X.

The current account is the most complete measure of trade because it includes investment flows and trade in merchandise and services. A deficit means Türkiye is consuming more from overseas than it is selling abroad.

The current account deficit stood at around $3.26 billion in February. The annualized gap has dropped to around $32 billion, compared to around $60 billion last May.

The deficit in 2023 as a whole came in at $45.2 billion, down from $48.8 billion in 2022.

Şimşek said the annualized foreign trade deficit fell to $92 billion, marking a $26 billion decline compared to the same month of 2023.

"In the first quarter of 2024, annual merchandise exports reached $257.6 billion, while tourism revenues reached $56.3 billion," the minister wrote.

"The reshaping of supply chains after the pandemic, strategic competition and fragmentation in global trade are increasing the trend of supply from friendly and nearby countries."

Türkiye is one of the countries benefiting the most from these trends thanks to its strategic location, Şimşek said.

"We will further strengthen our position in global trade with structural reforms aimed at increasing efficiency."