The Turkish Statistical Institute announced on Tuesday that exports decreased by 3.1% while imports increased by 2.7% in November 2024, compared to the same month in 2023.

According to provisional data produced in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, November 2024 saw exports totaling $22.289 billion, marking a 3.1% decline. In contrast, imports reached $29.748 billion, showing a 2.7% increase compared to November 2023.

For the January-November 2024 period, exports grew by 2.5% to $238.462 billion, whereas imports decreased by 6.3% to $311.798 billion, compared to the same period in 2023.

Excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, November 2024 exports increased by 0.1% to $20.788 billion. Imports in the same category rose by 1.0% to $21.933 billion. The foreign trade deficit, excluding these products, was $1.145 billion, with a trade volume of $42.720 billion, marking a 0.6% increase. Export coverage of imports was 94.8%.

The foreign trade deficit increased by 24.9% in November 2024, totaling $7.459 billion compared to November 2023. The export coverage of imports was 74.9%, down from 79.4% in the previous year. However, for the January-November 2024 period, the foreign trade deficit decreased by 26.8% to $73.336 billion. Export coverage of imports improved to 76.5% from 69.9% in January-November 2023.

In November 2024, the manufacturing industries accounted for 93.7% of total exports. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing contributed 4.3%, while mining and quarrying added 1.4%. For the January-November 2024 period, these sectors contributed 94.2%, 3.6%, and 1.7%, respectively.

The main export partner in November 2024 was Germany, with exports valued at $1.682 billion, followed by the USA ($1.470 billion), the United Kingdom ($1.390 billion), Italy ($1.213 billion), and Iraq ($1.087 billion). These five countries accounted for 30.7% of total exports.

In terms of imports, Russia was Turkey’s top partner in November 2024, with imports worth $3.979 billion. China followed with $3.628 billion, Germany with $2.300 billion, Italy with $1.968 billion, and Switzerland with $1.337 billion. These five countries represented 44.4% of total imports.

In November 2024, high-technology products accounted for 3.9% of manufacturing industries' exports. This ratio was 11.5% for high-technology imports within the manufacturing sector. For the January-November 2024 period, these figures were 3.5% for high-tech exports and 11.1% for high-tech imports.

Under the special trade system, November 2024 exports were $20.596 billion, a 1.8% decrease compared to November 2023, while imports increased by 3.6% to $28.457 billion. The foreign trade deficit under this system was $7.861 billion, a 20.8% increase from November 2023. For January-November 2024, exports reached $216.386 billion, a 2.3% increase, and imports totaled $290.994 billion, a 6.7% decrease. The foreign trade deficit for this period was $74.608 billion, marking a 25.5% decrease from the same period in 2023. (ILKHA)