UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS
By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's foreign trade deficit in the first quarter of this year fell 67.4% year-on-year, the country's statistical authority announced on Tuesday.
The figure totaled some $6.8 billion from January to March, improving from a $20.7 billion deficit in same period last year, according to TurkStat.
Turkish exports rose to $42.2 billion -- up 2.7% on a yearly basis -- while imports slipped to $49 billion, down 20.8%.
The exports-to-imports coverage ratio rose to 86.2% in the first three months of this year, up significantly from 66.5% in the same period last year.
The country's foreign trade volume reached $91.3 billion between January and March, down 11.4% annually, according to the data.
Exports to EU countries, the country's main trading partner, remained almost unchanged at around $21.3 billion.
More than 50% of Turkish exports in the first three months of the year went to the EU.
The Near and Middle Eastern region was the second-largest export market for Turkish products with some $7.8 billion, followed by Africa with nearly $3.9 billion.
Germany remained Turkey's top export market by country, receiving $3.9 billion worth of Turkish goods, or a 9.3 percent share of total exports.
It was followed by the U.K. with $2.64 billion, Italy with $2.4 billion, and Spain with $2.1 billion.
Turkey imported the most from Russia ($5.25 billion), China ($4.24 billion), Germany ($4.16 billion), and the U.S. ($2.48 billion) in the same period.
In March, Turkey's exports fell 0.4% on a yearly basis to reach $15.5 billion, while imports went down to $17.6 billion -- a 17.8% decline.
Last month, the foreign trade deficit dropped 63.7% to reach $2.1 billion.