Turkish exporters achieved their highest sales ever for the second straight month in August, official data showed on Monday, in a trend that, accompanied by declining imports, helped send the country's foreign trade deficit to the lowest level in nearly three years.
Outbound shipments rose 2.4% last month, reaching $22.1 billion, the highest August level ever, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat told a meeting in Istanbul to announce the preliminary trade data.
"With this August record, we have set monthly export records in nine of the last 13 months, starting from August 2023," Bolat added.
Imports declined by 10.8%, totaling almost $27 billion, the data showed.
Türkiye's trade gap narrowed by 43.4% to $4.9 billion, the lowest level in 34 months. The import-to-export coverage ratio also improved, rising to 81.7%.
Bolat emphasized the positive trends in the trade figures, particularly the reduction in the trade deficit, as a key achievement in stabilizing the country's economy.
"Our trend of decreasing imports continues. Our trade deficit is showing a strong decline, and the current account deficit is also on a downward trend," said the minister.
"This means more investment, more production, more employment, more exports and more foreign currency reserves for Türkiye."
Between January and August, exports amounted to $170.8 billion, up 3.9% compared to the same period last year. Imports totaled $225.7 billion, marking an 8.7% decrease, the data showed.
The trade deficit fell by 33.6% to $54.9 billion.
"In the first eight months of 2023, the trade deficit was $82.6 billion. Therefore, we managed to reduce our trade deficit by $27.7 billion in the first eight months," said Bolat.
Exports are among the priority areas the Turkish government seeks to rely on as they rebalance the economy's growth composition.
The 12-month rolling exports also reached a fresh peak at nearly $262 billion, a 3.5% increase from the previous year, while imports fell by 8.4% to $340.6 billion.
As part of its medium-term program, the government had set an export target of $267 billion for 2024. Shipments hit a record $256 billion in the whole of 2023.
The automotive industry led the list among sectors with $2.7 billion worth of sales in August. It was followed by chemicals with $2.6 billion, ready-to-wear with $1.7 billion, electronics with $1.5 billion and the steel industry with $1.4 billion, said Mustafa Gültepe, the chair of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM).
Gültepe still said growth in automotive and chemicals exports turned negative last month. He highlighted a 108% year-over-year, or $500 million, increase in exports of jewelry.
Germany remained the biggest market, having received $1.5 billion of Turkish exports in August. It was followed by the United States and the United Kingdom with $1.1 billion each.
More than half, or 55.3%, of outbound shipments were made to the European Union, said Gültepe.
Separate data earlier on Monday showed Türkiye's economy grew less than expected in the second quarter, expanding an annual 2.5% in the face of a yearlong monetary tightening campaign, but the quarterly growth rate surprised analysts by remaining positive.
Second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.1% from the previous quarter on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, avoiding an expected contraction.
Despite the slowdown, Bolat said Türkiye has achieved 16 consecutive quarters, or four years, of expansion.
Net exports of goods and services contributed 1.6 points to first quarter growth and 1.3 points in the second quarter, the minister noted.
"This means that half of the growth in the second quarter came from net exports of goods and services," Bolat said.
"This is a positive outcome of the balancing process in foreign trade and contributes to macroeconomic stability. It has been a strong parameter supporting the rapid downward trend in financial stability and the fight against inflation."