Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit jumps, start of 2025: Trade Ministry

Türkiye’s Trade Ministry announced Tuesday that the foreign trade deficit surged by 21.2% since the beginning of 2025, driven by rising energy and gold imports.

According to the latest foreign trade figures, exports in the January-February period increased by 2.1% year-on-year to $41.94 billion, while imports rose by 6.6% to $57.63 billion. Consequently, the total trade volume grew by 4.7% to $99.57 billion.

In February 2025, exports declined by 1.5% compared to the same month last year, totaling $20.78 billion. Meanwhile, imports rose by 3.8% to $28.93 billion, bringing the export-to-import coverage ratio down by 3.9 percentage points to 71.8%.

Excluding energy, the export-to-import coverage ratio fell by 2.7 percentage points to 86.4%. However, when both energy and gold were excluded, the ratio increased by 0.8 percentage points to 94.1%.

Germany, the U.S., and the U.K. were Türkiye’s top export destinations in February, with respective export values of $1.69 billion, $1.20 billion, and $1.18 billion. The top 10 export destinations accounted for 47.1% of total exports.

On the import side, Russia, China, and the U.S. were the largest suppliers, with import values of $3.98 billion, $3.55 billion, and $2.42 billion, respectively. The top 10 countries accounted for 61.3% of total imports.

‘Calendar effects and euro-dollar fluctuations hit trade’

Speaking at a press conference at the ministry’s headquarters in Ankara on the latest figures, Trade Minister Omer Bolat highlighted the negative impact of seasonal factors and rising energy ─particularly natural gas─ and gold imports.

“February was a challenging month. Snow, frost, and ice led to road closures,” Bolat said. “We started February with a $900 million deficit. Given that last year’s February exports stood at $21.09 billion, this year saw a decline of $314 million.”

Bolat also pointed to fluctuations in the euro-dollar exchange rate, noting that the parity stood at 1.08 in February 2024 but dropped to 1.04 in January 2025, creating a $300 million disadvantage for exports.

Despite challenges, Bolat emphasized that Türkiye recorded export growth in 13 of the past 21 months. “Compared to the same period last year, we are $800 million ahead, with total exports reaching approximately $42 billion, marking a 2.1% increase,” he said.

February’s imports amounted to $28.9 billion, with increased energy costs playing a key role, Bolat added.

“Our natural gas imports rose by $1.55 billion in the first two months due to higher global prices. Gold imports also increased by nearly $1 billion. When excluding gold and natural gas, the trade deficit actually narrows,” he explained.

Bolat projected that the annualized current account deficit for February 2025 would range between $12 billion and $12.5 billion. “January, February, and March are traditionally weak months for tourism. However, starting in April, rising tourism and logistics revenues will contribute positively to reducing the current account deficit,” he concluded.