Turkey Trade Deficit Worsens by 69% to $50 Billion

Turkey’s trade deficit increased by 69.12% to $49.91 billion by the end of 2020, according to data from the Turkish Ministry of Trade on Tuesday.

The ministry data showed that imports increased 4.32% to $219.43 billion, while exports dropped 6.26% to $169.51 billion in 2020, increasing the deficit to $49.91 billion.  In December, imports rose 11.75% to $22.41 billion, while exports also increased 15.97% to $17.84 billion.

In the context of the Turkish government's attempts to reassure investors and citizens by making promises, Anatolia quoted İsmail Gülle, Chairman of Turkish Exporters Assembly, who said that his country aims to achieve exports worth $184 billion during the year 2021.

This came in a speech delivered by Gülle at the Foreign Trade Assessment Meeting for the Year 2020, Tuesday, in the capital, Ankara, in the presence of Turkey's Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan. "We will reach 1% in global merchandise trade for the first time in our history, and our primary goal is to maintain this share in 2021," Gülle added.

According to Anadolu agency, he added: "The 18,123 companies that joined our family in 2020 achieved exports worth $3.57 billion, and the export family will continue to grow in the current year." "With continued support to the private sector in the world in 2021, we will witness one of the years in which trade finance is easy," he said.

Pekcan announced that Turkey recorded $169.5 billion in exports during the past year 2020.

According to Anadolu,  Turkey's exports broke a record in Q4 of last year, reaching $51.2 billion. In December, Turkish exports amounted to $17,844 billion, recording an increase of 16%, year-on-year.

The Turkish Statistics Institute data revealed on Monday that the inflation rate rose more than expected to 14.6% on an annual basis in December, to continue the pressure on the central bank to tighten monetary policy. On a monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.25% in December.

A Reuters poll expected inflation to increase 14.2% year-on-year, compared with 14% in November, while the monthly rate is up 0.9%.

The data showed that the producer price index, which measures the average changes in prices received by domestic producers for their output, rose 2.36% in December on a monthly basis and 25.15% annually, hindering production in the country.

Last Thursday, Turkish Minister of Finance and Treasury Lotfi Alwan claimed that his country is determined to become a strong and competitive country in the global economy after the corona crises.