Turkey posts $4.3B trade gap in July

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s foreign trade deficit reached $4.3 billion this July, the country’s statistical authority announced on Tuesday.

The July figure was up 51.3% from the same month last year, TurkStat said in a statement.

Last month, Turkish exports hit $16.4 billion, rising 10.2% year-on-year, while imports jumped 16.8% to $20.7 billion.

The exports-to-imports coverage ratio slipped to 79.3% in July, versus 84% in the same month of last year.

Turkey's exports to its top trading partner Germany were worth nearly $1.5 billion last month, followed by the US at $1.1 billion, Britain $983 million, and Italy $803 million.

In July, China was the number one source for Turkey's imports, amounting to $2.7 billion. Russia and Germany followed with $2.5 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively.

Manufacturing industry products dominated total exports with a share of 94.7%, followed by agriculture and forestry (2.6%), and mining and quarrying (2.1%).

The ratio of high technology products in manufacturing industry exports stood at 2.9% in July, while the shares of medium-high and medium-low technology products were 33% and 30.4%, respectively.

In January-July, Turkey's foreign trade deficit narrowed by 4.7% from last year to $25.5 billion.

The country's exports stood at $121.3 billion, up 35%, while imports totaled $146.8 billion, rising 25.8% during the seven-month period.