ANKARA: The foreign trade deficit of Turkey fell by 10.3 percent to reach $4.49 billion in March, compared to the same month last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported on Friday.
TurkStat’s data showed that exports increased by 13.6 percent to $14.49 billion in March, compared to the same month in 2016, while imports soared by 6.9 percent to $18.98 billion year-on-year. The report revealed that the Turkey’s imports from the EU made up 46.7 percent of the total imports, a 2.4 percent decrease from 49.1 percent in March 2016. Exports to Europe increased by 8.1 percent compared to last year, reaching $6.77 billion in March.
Germany led the list of the main countries for exports with trade reaching $1.32 billion, closely followed by the United Arab Emirates with $1.28 billion, Iraq with $906 million and the United Kingdom with $874 million. Germany was also the top country for Turkish imports, worth $1.78 billion. Imports from China reached $1.77 billion, followed by Russia with $1.59 billion and the U.S. with $952 million.