Türkiye's exports hit $19.3B in April

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's exports in April totaled $19.3 billion, down 17.2% from the same month last year, according to preliminary Trade Ministry estimates on Tuesday.

Turkish imports also fell 4.5% year-on-year in April to $28.2 billion.

This widened the country's foreign trade gap in the same period 43.9% to $8.85 billion.

Türkiye's motor vehicle exports hit $2.4 billion, up 3.6% from last year, while machinery remained unchanged at $2 billion, the ministry said in a statement.

The country's energy import bill plummeted 35.8% annually to $5 billion in April. However, its gold purchases soared 174% to $1.3 billion.

Other main sectors that stand out in Turkish imports last month were road motor vehicles with $1.2 billion and electrical machinery with $663 million.

Germany, Türkiye's top export market, received $1.59 billion worth of Turkish goods in April, followed by the US with $1.16 billion, Iraq with $970 million, Italy with $950 million, and the UK with $942 million.

On the other hand, Russia was the main source of Turkish imports with $4.18 billion, followed by China with $3.69 billion, Germany with $2.18 billion, Italy with $1.15 billion, and the US with $1.12 billion.

- Cumulative figures

In January-April, Türkiye's outbound shipments dropped 3% from the same period of last year to $80.9 billion.

Imports grew 7.2% to $124.4 billion in the first four months of 2023. The country's trade deficit climbed 33.2% to $43.5 billion.

Germany was the main recipient of Turkish exports with $7.1 billion from January to April, followed by the US with $4.8 billion, Italy with $4.17 billion, Russia with $3.94 billion, and the UK with $3.88 billion.

Türkiye imported over $17.26 billion worth of goods from Russia in the four-month period.

China was the second-largest exporter to Türkiye in January-April, with $14.13 billion, followed by Germany with $8.76 billion, the US with $4.82 billion, and Italy and $4.73 billion.