UPDATE - Turkiye's exports hit record February high of $20B

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkiye's exports totaled $20 billion last month, hitting an all-time high for the month of February, the trade minister announced on Wednesday.

The country's exports rose 25.4% year-on-year in February, while the foreign trade volume soared 36.4% to $48.1 billion in the same period, Mehmet Mus said in a news conference in the capital Ankara.

Amid harsh winter conditions and increasing global energy prices, imports increased 45.6% to $28.2 billion in February, with energy imports accounting for $8 billion, the minister elaborated.

The foreign trade balance was minus $8 billion in February, up from minus $3.3 billion in February 2021.

Export-import covering ratio – excluding energy – was 95.1% last month, Mus said.

The number of exporter companies increased by more than 5,000 year-on-year in February, he further said.

"Our 2022 goal is to reach the target of $250 billion and exceed it," he stressed.

- 2-month figures

During the first two months of 2022, Turkiye's exports were up 21.4% to $37.6 billion while imports rose 49.7% to $55.95 billion compared to the same period of the last year.

The foreign trade balance posted a deficit of $18.35 billion in the two-month period, up 186.3% on a yearly basis.