Türkiye's trade gap shrinks 48% in May

By Tuba Ongun

Türkiye's trade gap narrowed 48% from a year ago to 6.5$ billion in May, according to official data released on Friday.

Turkish exports surged 11.3% at an annualized pace to $24.1 billion in May, while imports plunged 10.4% to $30.6 billion, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed.

Excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, Türkiye saw a $2-billion foreign trade deficit in May.

The exports-to-imports coverage ratio rose 78.7% this May, compared to 63.4% last year.

Türkiye's shipments to its main trading partner Germany amounted to $1.9 billion in May, followed by the UK with $1.52 billion, the US with $1.48 billion, Iraq with $1.15 million, and Italy with $1.12 million.

China was the top source of Türkiye's imports in May with $3.86 billion, followed by Russia with $3.78 billion, Germany with $2.28 billion, Italy with $1.88 billion, and the US with $1.46 billion.

- Cumulative figure

In January-May, Türkiye's outbound shipments increased 4.5% year-on-year to $106.9 billion.

Its imports, on the other hand, dropped 9.2% to $143.7 billion in the same period.

Türkiye's foreign trade deficit narrowed by 34.3% from last year to $56 billion in the first five months.