Azernews.Az

By Erdal Tanas Karagöl

Turkiye reached a total trade volume of 606 billion dollars with 262 billion dollars of exports and 344 billion dollars of imports in 2024.

The increase in exports, which constitute the foreign trade volume, means an increase in economic growth, a decrease in the foreign trade deficit and therefore the current account deficit, and a decrease in the need for external financing.

The decrease in the current account deficit and the decrease in the need for external financing will also bring about an improvement in the country's credit rating, a decrease in vulnerabilities in the economy, and a decrease in the country's risk premium and interest rates.

Goods where much export and import is made

While Turkiye imports the most in intermediate goods, consumer goods and investment goods, we see the same ranking in exports.

The share of intermediate goods in imports is 69 percent, consumer goods 16 percent and investment goods 15 percent.

The high level of external dependency in imports, especially in energy, and the need for inputs required for the production of some products increase imports.

While intermediate goods have a 50 percent share in exports, consumer goods have a 36 percent share and investment goods have a 14 percent share.

Countries with highest export and import

The countries with the highest exports are Germany, the USA, and the UK, respectively, while Russia ranks first in imports, China ranks second and Germany ranks third.

The reason why Russia ranks first in imports is energy imports.

When examined according to country groups, it is seen that European countries have the largest share in exports and imports.

Export coverage rate

The export coverage rate of imports was 76.1 percent in 2024. This rate was 70.6 percent in 2023.

The increase in this rate also shows that the gap between exports and imports has decreased.

Therefore, in order for Turkiye to reduce its foreign trade deficit and get rid of the current account deficit, the only solution is to reduce imports on the one hand and increase the share of high-technology products of the manufacturing industry, which has a share of 3.5 percent in exports, on the other.