Foreign Trade Volume with Turkish Lira Approached $25 Billion in 9 Months
Turkey's exports in Turkish Lira were recorded as 7.6 billion dollars and imports as 11.1 billion dollars in 2019. Thus, the foreign trade volume exceeded 18.7 billion dollars in the said year.
In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was effective, exports in Turkish Lira decreased to 6.5 billion dollars, while imports increased to 13 billion dollars. The trade volume in Turkish Lira was calculated as 19.5 billion dollars that year.
The increase in foreign trade in Turkish Lira continued in the following years as well. In this context, exports increased to 7.5 billion dollars and imports to 13.3 billion dollars in 2021. Thus, the foreign trade volume was 20.8 billion dollars in the said year.
In 2022, exports of 7.7 billion dollars were realized in Turkish Lira, while the import amount increased to 15.9 billion dollars. Thus, the foreign trade volume in Turkish Lira reached 23.6 billion dollars.
The increase in the said trade accelerated last year. In this context, exports of 9.4 billion dollars and imports of 25.3 billion dollars were realized in Turkish Lira in 2023. The total trade volume also increased to 34.7 billion dollars.
In the 5-year period, exports increased by 23.7 percent and imports by 127.9 percent.
In the 9 months of this year, exports of 6.9 billion dollars were made in Turkish Lira, while products worth 17.9 billion dollars were imported. Thus, the total trade volume in this category was 24.8 billion dollars in 9 months.
Turkey also attaches special importance to trade with reciprocal currencies as well as the Turkish Lira. In this context, while 26 different currencies were used in exports in 2019, this number increased to 46 last year. While most trade was conducted with the dollar and euro last year, trade in Turkish Lira ranked third. These currencies were followed by British Pound, Polish Zloty, Russian Ruble, and Japanese Yen.
Most recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a statement to reporters after his visit to the Republic of Tatarstan, which is affiliated to Russia, to attend the BRICS Summit, expressed Turkey's sensitivity to the use of national currencies in trade.
"This allows bilateral trade to be freed from the pressure of foreign exchange. It prevents other countries from interfering in the commercial activities of countries. Trade with national currencies is also free trade. Likewise, the lack of diversity in payment systems also increases the vulnerability of financial markets to shocks. Therefore, an alternative financial and payment system both facilitates and diversifies international trade."
The foreign trade data (billion dollars) carried out in Turkish Lira for the years 2019-2023 and the January-September period of this year is as follows:
Years Export Import Volume
2019     7,6         11,1       18,7
2020     6,5         13           19,5
2021     7,5         13,3       20,8
2022     7,7         15,9       23,6
2023     9,4         25,3       34,7
Ocak-Eylül 2024                 6,9       17,9      24,8