According to figures prepared by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK- TurkStat) in cooperation with Turkey’s Ministry of Trade, and using the General Trade System (GTS) calculation method, Turkey’s foreign trade deficit was USD 6,278 million in August 2020, 168.2% higher than the figure for the same month of the previous year, and also 122.5% higher than the deficit for the previous month of July 2020.
Exports totalled USD 12,464 million and imports totalled USD 18.742 million in August 2020. The export figure was a 5.7% decrease and the import figure a 20.4% increase on the figures for the same month of the previous year. The export figure was 19.4% lower and the import figure 5.5% lower than the respective figures for the previous month of July 2020.
For the first eight months of 2020, the trade deficit was USD 33,004 million, 69.9% higher than the figure for the same period of the previous year. Exports totalled USD 102,343 million and imports totalled USD 135,347 million in the first eight months of 2020. The export figure was a 12.9% decrease and the import figure a 1.2% decrease on the figures for the same period of the previous year.
The trade deficit for the year of 2019 was USD 29,543 million, a fall of 45.6% on the previous year. Total exports were USD 180,718 million, a 2.2% increase, and total imports were USD 210,261 million, a 9.1% fall on the figures for the previous year.
The machinery and equipment sector moved into the leading position in the export table in August 2020 with USD 1,258 million (10.1% of total exports), followed by the automotive sector with USD 1,246 million (10% of total exports). It would appear that the automotive sector, until now for many years the locomotive sector behind Turkey’s drive to open up global export markets to Turkish products, has not as yet fully recovered from the shutdown of its automotive plants in March, April and May as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Pre-pandemic export levels for the automotive sector were over USD 2 billion and around 14-15% of total exports.
The precious stones and metals sector moved into the leading position in the import table in August 2020 with USD 4,239 million (22.6% of total imports), followed by the energy sector with USD 2,140 million (11.4% of total imports), and the machinery and mechanical equipment sector with USD 1,957 million (10.4% of total imports). It has been led to believe that the high precious stones and metals sector figure, 338.4% higher than the figure for the same month of the previous year, was due to large import shipments of gold in August.
Turkey’s exports to the EU, Turkey’s main trading partner, were USD 5,150 million in August 2020, 2.9% lower than the figure for the same month of the previous year, and 22% lower than the previous month of July. The share of total Turkish exports to the EU was 41.3% in August 2020 compared with 40.1% in the same month of the previous year. With regards the full year of 2019, Turkey’s exports to the EU were 42.4% of its total exports.
Germany, the EU’s largest economy, was the leading recipient of Turkish goods in August 2020, with USD 1,210 million. UK followed with USD 989 million, USA with USD 740 million, Iraq with USD 640 million, Spain with USD 582 million, Italy with USD 495 million, France with USD 483 million, and Holland with USD 432 million. With regards the full year of 2019, rankings were as follows: Germany (USD 16,624 million), UK (USD 11,281 million), Iraq (USD 10,224 million), Italy (USD 9,754 million), USA (USD 8,972 million), Spain (USD 8,141 million), and France (USD 7,946 million).
China was the leading exporter to Turkey in August 2020 with USD 1,931 million, followed by Germany with USD 1,695 million, Iraq with USD 1,674 million, Russia with USD 1,324 million, Switzerland with USD 1,165 million, USA with USD 829 million, Italy with USD 762 million, and UAE with USD 536 million. With regards the full year of 2019, rankings were as follows: Russia (USD 23,117 million), Germany (USD 19,279 million), China (USD 19,128 million), USA (USD 11,847 million), Italy (USD 9,349 million), France (USD 6,760 million), India (USD 6,635 million), South Korea (USD 5,777 million) and UK (USD 5,638 million).
The percentage of imports covered by exports was 66.5% in August 2020, compared with 85% in the same month of the previous year. With regards the full year of 2019, the percentage of imports covered by exports was 86% compared with 76.6% in the previous year.
Using the Special Trade System (STS) calculation method of foreign trade, Turkey’s foreign trade deficit in August 2020 was USD 6,386 million, an increase of 147.9% on the same month of the previous year. Exports were USD 11,759 million, a decrease of 5.9% on the same month of the previous year, and imports were USD 18,145 million, an increase of 20.4% on the same month of the previous year. The deficit for the full year of 2019 was USD 31,239 million, with exports of USD 171,465 million and imports of USD 202,704 million.