Türkiye’s exports declined in August, but a sharper drop in imports, hitting a 14-month low, helped shrink the trade deficit to its narrowest level in almost four years, official data revealed on Wednesday.

Outbound shipments slipped slightly by 0.9% year-over-year to $21.8 billion last month, while imports dropped a steeper 3.9% to $25.96 billion, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said, citing preliminary data.

That marked the first decline in imports in 11 months and led the country’s foreign trade deficit to shrink by 16.7% from a year ago to $4.17 billion, the lowest level in 46 months, Bolat told an event in the northwestern Sakarya province.

The export-to-import coverage ratio surged to 83.9% in August, also its highest in nearly four years.

From January to August, exports totaled $178.1 billion, while in the 12 months to August, they reached $269.2 billion.

Germany remained Türkiye’s top export market last month, with shipments worth $1.78 billion, followed by the United States ($1.28 billion) and the United Kingdom ($1.16 billion). The top 10 export destinations accounted for 46.2% of total exports.

On the import side, China led with $3.9 billion, followed by Russia ($3.3 billion) and Germany ($2.26 billion). The top 10 import partners made up 59.4% of total imports.

Exports to regional blocs showed that the European Union remained Türkiye’s largest market with $9.1 billion, followed by Near and Middle Eastern countries ($3.8 billion) and other European countries ($3.2 billion).

Exports were heavily driven by the manufacturing sector, accounting for 94.9% of the total with $20.7 billion. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries contributed 2.7% ($598 million), while mining and quarrying stood at 1.6% ($348 million).

Imports were also dominated by manufacturing with 82.3% ($21.4 billion), followed by mining and quarrying at 12.7% ($3.3 billion), and agriculture, forestry and fisheries at 2.5% ($641 million).

Despite the fall in exports, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said the government’s policy measures are improving expectations and supporting external balances.

“Although our exports in August fell 0.9% year-over-year, the sharper 3.9% decline in imports reflected positively on the trade balance,” Yılmaz wrote on social media platform X.

The sharp decline in August trade deficit lowered the annualized gap to $87.5 billion, he noted.

“Positive developments in both foreign trade and tourism are expected to bring the current account deficit below the 2% of GDP level projected in the (medium-term) program by year-end.”

In 2024, total exports hit a record $262 billion despite challenges such as an uncertain global outlook and slowing demand in some of Türkiye’s key export markets, like the European Union.

Imports dropped by 4.9% to $344.1 billion. The trade gap shrank by 22.7% to $82.2 billion from $106.3 billion in 2023.

The goal for 2025 is to lift exports to $280 billion, according to officials.

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