First Quarter Export Record
Although exports in March decreased by 4.1 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, exports in the first 3 months of the year increased by 3.6 percent to 63.6 billion dollars, breaking the all-time first quarter record. While imports decreased by 5.7 percent annually in March, the leading foreign trade deficit in March decreased by 10.3 percent to 7.52 billion dollars.
TURKEY completed March with 22 billion 580 million dollars of exports. In exports in the January-March period of 2024, the all-time first quarter record was broken with 63.7 billion dollars.
According to the data of the Ministry of Trade, exports decreased by 4.1 percent in March 2024 compared to the same month of the previous year, falling to 22 billion 578 million dollars. In the January-March period of 2024, exports increased by 3.6 percent to 63 billion 656 million dollars and the all-time first quarter record was broken.
While imports decreased by 5.7 percent annually in March to 30 billion 95 million dollars, imports decreased by 12.6 percent in the January-March period to 84 billion 128 million dollars.
AUTOMOTIVE LED THE WAY
The countries to which the most exports were made in March were, respectively; Germany with 1 billion 749 million dollars, Italy with 1 billion 301 million dollars, and the USA with 1 billion 264 million dollars. The countries from which the most imports were made in March were, respectively; China with 3 billion 900 million dollars, Russia with 3 billion 680 million dollars, and Germany with 2 billion 148 million dollars.
Making evaluations regarding the March foreign trade statistics, Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) President Mustafa Gültepe stated that 8 sectors increased their exports in March and reported that the automotive sector again led this increase. Accordingly, while the automotive sector maintained its first place with 3.2 billion dollars, the other sectors in the top five were ranked as follows: chemicals with 3 billion dollars of exports, ready-made clothing with 1.6 billion dollars of exports, steel with 1.5 billion dollars of exports, and electrical-electronics with 1 billion 470 million dollars of exports.
In addition, according to TIM data, exports increased in 43 of the 81 provinces in March. The five provinces with the most exports were Istanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa, İzmir, and Ankara. Balıkesir, Edirne, Erzincan and Kocaeli reached the highest export value in their history in March. Our Black Sea, Eastern Anatolia, Mediterranean and Central Anatolia regions increased their exports. The provinces that increased their unit export value the most were Yalova, Nevşehir, and Isparta.
FOREIGN TRADE DEFICIT SLOWED DOWN
According to the data of the Ministry of TRADE, the foreign trade deficit decreased by 10.3 percent in March compared to the same month of the previous year, falling from 8.4 billion dollars to 7.5 billion dollars. In the first quarter of 2024, the foreign trade deficit decreased by 41.2 percent, falling from 34.8 billion dollars to 20.5 billion dollars. When looking at the last 1-year period, the decrease in the deficit decreased from 118 billion dollars to 92 billion dollars with 22 percent. In the written statement made by the Ministry of Trade, it was said, "Thus, the 12-month annualized foreign trade deficit, which had increased to 122.2 billion dollars in May 2023, decreased to 92 billion dollars in March 2024, after 10 months." In the statement, the following expressions were used: "When the February 2024 data is announced, it is expected that the current account deficit in the last 12 months will decrease to around 32 billion dollars."