Turkey's foreign trade gap falls 43.5% in 2019

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey's foreign trade gap in 2019 dropped 43.5% to stand at $31.17 billion, down from $55.12 billion in 2018, the country's statistical authority announced on Friday.

TurkStat reported that during 2019 the country's exports rose 2.1% to reach $171.5 billion while imports fell 9.1% to stand at $202.7 billion.

Turkey's export/import coverage ratio reached 84.6% last year, up from 75.3% in 2018, the institute said.

In December, Turkey made exports of $14.7 billion, up 6.4% on a yearly basis, while the country's imports rose 14.9% to reach $19.2 billion.

The foreign trade deficit in December was $4.3 billion, up 57.6% versus the same month in the previous year.

"In December 2019, the exports coverage imports was 77.3% while it was 83.4% in December 2018," it added.