Turkey’s trade deficit more than tripled in January. The trade deficit widened to $10.4 billion from $3.06 billion in January 2021, as imports climbed by an annual 55.2 percent to $21 billion, driven by purchases of energy products, the Trade Ministry said on Wednesday, citing preliminary data. Exports rose by 17.3 percent to $17.6 billion.
The import export coverage ration dropped to 62.8% from last year’s 83%, yet stripping for the energy imports the coverage reaches 88%. Nonetheless, the widening trade deficit is for real.
Hence the figures reflect that President Erdoğan’s plans to create a current account surplus for the nation’s economy and slow the rise in inflation rate. Erdoğan has made export growth and a surplus for the current account the main economy plan based on weaker Turkish Lira. Consumer price inflation in Turkey jumped to 36.1 percent in December and expected to breech 50% by the end of 1Q22.
The January trade gap occurred even after the lira slumped by 44 percent against the dollar last year, rendering Turkish exports more attractive in terms of price.
The trade balance for January worsened partly due to a surge in global energy costs – Turkey imports nearly all the oil and natural gas that it consumes.
Rising energy prices and unexpectedly harsh winter conditions had led to an increase in imports, Trade Minister Mehmet Mus said, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. He said exports posted a record high for January without mentioning the pace in imports.