UPDATE - Turkey: Foreign trade gap narrows 76.5% in May

UPDATE WITH MORE DETAILS

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's foreign trade deficit dropped sharply in May, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said on Friday.

The figure fell 76.5% year-on-year to hit $1.84 billion last month, TurkStat said in a statement.

Turkey's exports rose 12.1% on a yearly basis to nearly $16 billion in May, while imports saw an annual decline of 19.3% to hit $17.8 billion.

The exports-to-imports coverage ratio climbed to 89.7% last month, up from 64.6% in May 2018.

Germany was Turkey's top export market by country, receiving some $1.5 billion worth of Turkish goods, or a 9.2% share of total exports.

It was followed by Italy ($857,215), Britain ($853,008), and the U.S. ($784,188).

Russia had the biggest share of exports to Turkey last month, with almost $1.9 billion.

China followed with $1.6 billion, Germany with $1.6 billion, and the U.S. with $1 billion.

- Figures in January-May

In the first five months of this year, Turkey's foreign trade balance had a deficit of some $11.6 billion, an annual decrease of 67%.

Turkish exports in January-May rose 4.9% compared to the same period last year to reach $72.7 billion.

Imports totaled $84.3 billion, down 19.3% during the same period.

Turkey’s exports to the EU -- making up nearly half of the country's exports -- amounted to $35.7 billion from January to May.

Exports to Asian and African countries, the next-largest export markets for Turkish products, were $18.8 billion and $6.8 billion, respectively.

TurkStat data showed that manufacturing accounted for the lion's share of total exports, at 94.5% or $68.7 billion.

Agriculture and forestry exports ($2.1 billion) got a 2.9% share.