ISTANBUL: Turkey’s trade deficit in June widened 5% on the year, official figures showed Friday, as a sharp fall in tourist arrivals took its toll on trade balance. The gap increased to $6.56 billion from $6.25 billion in June last year, data from state statistics agency TUIK showed. This suggests the first increase in trade deficit since July 2015. Imports rose 7% to $19.5 billion in June, while exports increased 8.1% to $12.9 billion, TUIK said.
In the January-June period, the deficit narrowed by 13% on the year to $40.3 billion. The number of foreign visitors to Turkey fell by 41% on the year to 2.4 million in June, which is the biggest drop on record, driven by rising security threats and political tension with Russia.