Turkiye's exports soar in November, Jan-Nov trade deficit shrinks

Turkiye's exports and imports have seen an annual rise of 33.7 percent and 27.3 percent to reach $21.5 billion and $26.9 billion, respectively.


The country’s foreign trade deficit rose by 6.9 percent on an annual basis to some $5.4 billion in November, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported on Friday.

The export-import coverage ratio was 79.8 percent in November.

Excluding the energy and gold trade, Turkiye’s exports and imports were $19.9 billion and $20.2 billion, respectively.

Foreign trade deficit - excluding energy products and non-monetary gold - was $315 million in November, TurkStat said.

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Jan-November trade deficit declines

In the January-November period, Turkiye’s exports grew 33.8 percent on a yearly basis to hit $203.1 billion, while imports were up by 23 percent to $242.44 billion.

The trade balance during the 11-month period saw a deficit of $39.35 billion, a 13.2 percent decrease versus the same period 2020.

"Exports coverage imports was 83.8 percent while it was 77 percent in January-November 2020," it added.

Foreign investment

In early December, Turkiye's Trade Minister Mehmet Mus said that many EU countries and the US have shifted their investments to Turkiye through their supply network amid the Covid-19 pandemic, leading Turkiye to benefit from its location and competitiveness.

These results show that the increase in Turkiye's exports is not temporary but permanent, Mus said, adding Turkiye embraces new investments and business models as a strong and reliable supplier.

"It is a shallow approach to attribute the superior performance in exports only to the exchange rate," he added.

READ MORE: Turkey's exports hit historic $21.5B high in November