Turkey’s foreign trade gap decreased in January from a year earlier as exports rose and imports declined.
The deficit narrowed by an annual 33 percent to $3.03 billion, the Turkish Statistical Institute said on its website on Friday.
Turkey is seeking to reduce its foreign trade deficit by boosting exports to its main market of the European Union and elsewhere. Imports have slowed after the central bank more than doubled its benchmark interest rate to 17 percent since September, curbing consumer demand for foreign goods.
Exports climbed by an annual 2.3 percent to $15 billion. Imports fell by 5.9 percent to $18.1 billion. Exported goods covered 83 percent of imports last month compared with 77 percent in January 2020, the institute said.
Exports, excluding energy products and gold, rose by an annual 1.2 percent to $14.1 billion in January, while imports under the same classification rose by 5.2 percent to $14 billion. That led to a foreign trade surplus of $9 million, the institute said.
Ahval