UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM TURKISH TRADE MINISTER
By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish exports amounted to $21.7 billion in August, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Tuesday.
The exports were down 1.2% on an annual basis, while imports also fell by 3.9% to $25.94 billion in August, resulting in a trade deficit of $4.2 billion, down 15.8%.
Excluding energy and non-monetary gold, the foreign trade balance posted a surplus of $338 million in August, the data showed.
In August, the ratios of the manufacturing industries products sector, agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, and the mining and quarrying sector in total exports were 94.9%, 2.7%, and 1.6%, respectively.
High-tech's share in the manufacturing side was at 4.2%, and medium-high tech's share was at 37.9% in August.
The top destination country for Turkish exports was Germany with $1.77 billion, followed by the US with $1.27 billion and the UK with $1.15 billion.
China was the top source of imports to Türkiye with $3.9 billion, followed by Russia with $3.28 billion and Germany with $2.25 billion.
In January-August, the country's exports totaled $178 billion, up 4.3%, and imports were at $238.1 billion, up 5.6%.
The foreign trade deficit in the eight-month period was $60.14 billion, up 9.7% compared to the same period of 2024.
Commenting on the data, Türkiye's Trade Minister Omer Bolat stated that the export-import coverage ratio was 83.8% in August, the highest in the last 46 months.
"According to our leading indicators, as the Trade Ministry, we estimate that there will be a surplus of around $5 billion in the current account in August," Bolat wrote on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
He stated that the growth in production, investment, and exports is also reflected in employment.
"According to the latest data, employment increased by 208,000 to 32.8 million in August 2025. Thus, employment remained strong, very close to the record level seen in May 2024," Bolat added.