Turkey’s imports totaled USD 30.9bn in March, according to Trade Minister Mehmet Mus.
Mus said imports surged by 156% year-on-year in March due to a sharp increase in energy prices recently.
Exports, meanwhile, reached USD 22.7bn in March, up 19.8% on a yearly basis.
Mus also noted that the export figure hit an all-time high for the month of March.
The export-import coverage ratio was 73.4% in March, while it was 95% when the energy imports were excluded.
Mus said Turkey’s exports in the last 12 months reached USD 235.6bn, describing it as a positive sign for the year-end target of USD 250bn.
According to a press release issued by the Trade Ministry, the main destination for the Turkish exports in March was Germany with USD 1.9bn, up 13.7% year-on-year.
The U.S. followed Germany with USD 1.56bn, increasing 25.6% from March 2021, and Italy with USD 1.27bn, up 30.5%.
The EU’s share in Turkey’s exports was USD 9.97bn in March, the ministry said.
Among sectors, the manufacturing industry got the lion’s share with 94.9%. Agriculture-forestry-aquaculture (3.1%) and mining-quarrying (1.5%) followed it.
Main import sources were Russia (USD 4.1bn), China (USD 3.6bn), and Germany (USD 2.24bn) in March 2022.
In the first quarter of this year, Turkey’s exports soared 20.8% to USD 60.3bn and imports rose 42.1% to USD 86.68bn.
The foreign trade deficit was up 138.4% to USD 26.4bn in the three-month period.