Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit to rise in 2025 as finance minister cites 5 factors

Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit is expected to expand by the end of 2025, as indicated by February’s figures, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said Wednesday.

However, Simsek noted that “the sustainable current account balance is expected to continue.”

Commenting on Türkiye’s foreign trade figures for February in his post on X, Simsek pointed out that exports shrank by 1.5% year-on-year because of exchange rate effects, fewer working days, and adverse weather.

Despite this, exports grew by 2.1% in the first two months of the year.

He also highlighted that while total imports increased by 3.8% in February, imports excluding gold and energy fell by 3.1%, which contributed to an improvement in the foreign trade balance when adjusted for these factors.

‘We continue to increase support’

Simsek cited five main factors driving the widening foreign trade deficit:

• Rising uncertainty in global trade
• Protectionist policies
• Weak growth outlook in the European Union
• Natural gas prices
• The impact of Türkiye’s economic recovery

“We are continuing to increase support to limit the effects of current conditions on production and exports,” Simsek said.

During the January-February period, Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit soared by 21.2%, the Turkish trade ministry reported on Tuesday.