UPDATE - Turkey's exports rise over 8.3% in July

UPDATE WITH MORE DETAILS

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey's exports surged 8.32% to reach $15.96 billion in July, said Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan on Friday.

The figure under the general trade system makes July 2019 the best-performing July in the country's export history, she said.

In the same month, Turkey's imports amounted to $19.3 billion, down nearly 8% on an annual basis.

"Despite global developments, Turkey continues to raise exports thanks to government actions and exporters' efforts," Pekcan stressed.

For calculating foreign trade data, two different methods are used -- the special trade system and the general trade system.

Calculations based on the special trade system do not include free zones or customs warehouses.

The general trade system is a wider concept, including customs warehouses, all types of free zones, free circulation areas, and premises for inward processing.

At the end of every month, Turkey's statistical authority TurkStat releases the final foreign trade figures for that month, as the Trade Ministry announces preliminary general trade system data in the first week of every month.

In July, the trade deficit dropped by 46.54% to $3.33 billion, on an annual basis, Pekcan said.

She stressed the rate of exports meeting imports reached 82.7% in July, up from 70.3% in the previous July.

Germany, the U.K. and Iraq were main destinations for Turkey's exports, she noted.

"In July, our exporters succeeded in reaching 212 markets," the minister said.

The trade minister said that Turkey's exports also rose by 3.07% to $104.2 billion in the first seven months of the year.

The trade deficit in the first 7 months was $25.5 billion, Pekcan said.

The minister also said that using Turkish lira in international trade increased in July -- 11.8 billion Turkish liras ($2.1 billion).