Turkish Trade Minister Omer Polat said on Saturday that the trade deficit shrank 42.3% year-on-year to $7 billion in February.
Polat added in a press conference that exports rose 13.6% to $21.09 billion in February, while imports decreased 8.5% to $28.09 billion.
In a related context, data from the Turkish Ministry of Trade showed that Turkey’s exports to Russia in February decreased by 33% on an annual basis to $670 million, compared to $1.1 billion in February 2023.
Turkish imports from Russia decreased by 36.65% last month to $1.3 billion, compared to $2 billion in the same month last year.
Reuters reported last week that US threats to impose sanctions on financial companies that deal with Russia affected trade between Ankara and Moscow, which led to the disruption or slowing down of some payments, whether for oil imports or Turkish exports.