Turkey: Foreign trade deficit widens in July

ANKARA

Turkey's foreign trade deficit widened in July, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported on Monday.

In July, the deficit increased to slightly over $7 billion, up from $6.6 billion for same month last year, a increase of 6.5 percent.

Turkey’s exports declined by almost 10 percent to $84.6 billion in the first seven months of this year, from $93.4 billion in the same period of last year. 

The institute valued July’s exports at $11.2 billion, a 16,2 percent decrease year-on-year. Imports also declined to $18.2 billion, a 8.7 percent decrease.

The country’s exports to the EU, Turkey’s main trading partner, declined by 13.8 percent in July to $5.2 billion from $6 billion last year. Germany. was the largest receiver of Turkish goods in July, to a value of  $1.1 billion.

Turkey imported $2.1 billion worth of goods from China in July. Germany was the second-largest exporter to the country, at a value of almost $2 billion for the month. 

The plunge in commodities prices and the fall of the euro against the dollar have both hurt Turkish exports, the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) reported in a statement on Aug. 1.

On a per-kilogram basis, Turkish exports have actually increased, according to the statement. This means that Turkish exporters are actually selling more, but receiving less revenue for their goods, according to TIM. The drop of the euro against the dollar -- the single currency has lost about 17 percent to the dollar since January -- has cost Turkish exporters about $8 billion in receipts, TIM said.