A statement issued by the Turkish Statistical Institute on Wednesday disclosed a 0.4% rise in exports and an 11.0% decline in imports in comparison to December 2022.

According to provisional data, exports amounted to $23 billion, while imports reached $29 billion 39 million during this period.

For the cumulative period of January-December 2023, exports registered a 0.6% increase, reaching $255 billion 777 million, while imports experienced a 0.5% decrease, totaling $361 billion 774 million compared with January-December 2022.

Notably, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, December 2023 saw a 1.7% decrease in exports, totaling $21 billion 41 million, and a 4.2% decrease in imports, amounting to $20 billion 799 million.

The foreign trade surplus, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, was $242 million in December 2023. The overall foreign trade volume decreased by 2.9%, reaching $41 billion 840 million, while the export coverage of imports, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, was at 101.2%.

The foreign trade deficit saw a significant decrease of 37.8% in December 2023, amounting to $6 billion 39 million. Exports coverage of imports rose to 79.2% in December 2023, compared to 70.2% in the same period the previous year.

In the cumulative period of January-December 2023, the foreign trade deficit decreased by 3.2%, totaling $105 billion 997 million. The export coverage of imports for this period was 70.7%, slightly higher than the 69.9% recorded in January-December 2022.

Looking at economic activities, manufacturing industries products dominated exports, constituting 92.9% of the total in December 2023. In terms of imports, intermediate goods accounted for 68.3% in the same month.

In December 2023, according to the BEC classification, the ratios of intermediate goods, capital goods, and consumption goods in total imports were 68.3%, 17.0%, and 14.7%, respectively. For January-December 2023, these ratios were 72.2%, 14.6%, and 13.2%, respectively.

Germany emerged as the leading partner for exports in December 2023, with a total of $1 billion 679 million, followed by the USA, Iraq, the United Kingdom, and Italy. For the cumulative period of January-December 2023, Germany maintained its position as the primary export partner.

On the import side, Russia topped the list in December 2023 with $4 billion 209 million, followed by China, Germany, Italy, and the USA. Russia also led imports in the January-December 2023 period.

In terms of technology intensity, high-tech products in manufacturing industries exports constituted 4.6%, while manufacturing industries' imports had a 12.7% share of high-technology products in December 2023.

Adjusting for seasonal and calendar effects, December 2023 witnessed a 2.4% increase in exports and a 0.2% increase in imports compared to the previous month. Calendar-adjusted exports increased by 3.3%, and imports decreased by 9.0% compared to December 2022.

According to the Special Trade System, December 2023's exports amounted to $20 billion 696 million, indicating a 0.4% decrease, while imports totaled $27 billion 318 million, marking an 11.2% decrease compared to December 2022. The foreign trade deficit for December 2023 was $6 billion 622 million, representing a 33.6% decrease compared to the same month in 2022.

In the January-December 2023 period, exports under the Special Trade System decreased by 1.2%, reaching $232 billion 310 million, while imports decreased by 0.9%, totaling $339 billion 58 million. The foreign trade deficit for this period was $106 billion 748 million, indicating a 0.2% decrease compared to January-December 2022. The export coverage of imports stood at 68.5%, slightly lower than the 68.7% recorded in the same period the previous year. (ILKHA)