Turkey reduced its imports last year. Nevertheless, as the rate of decline remained below the world average, Turkey moved up one place to 18th in the ranking of countries with the highest imports. The 82 percent increase in automotive imports and 44 percent increase in gold imports contributed to the rise in the ranking.
Turkey rose from 19th to 18th place in the ranking of countries with the highest imports in 2023 with USD 361 billion. While imports worldwide declined by 7.3 percent, from USD 25.42 trillion to USD 23.54 trillion. Turkey’s import fell only by 0.55 percent, leading to an increase in Turkey’s share of world imports from 1.43 percent to 1.54 percent. Unlike in 2022, world trade shrank in value in 2023, which was overshadowed by high inflation, the Russian-Ukrainian and Palestinian-Gaza wars.
According to the data of Trade Map, a web-based service provider developed by the International Trade Center (ITC) in 2001 to help institutions and companies related to foreign trade, while total imports worldwide fell by 7.3 percent in 2023, Turkey’s imports fell only by 0.54 percent.
According to TradeMab data, global exports, which increased by 11.56 percent to USD 24.72 trillion in 2022, decreased by 5.88 percent to USD 23.27 trillion in 2023. Imports that increased by 13 percent to USD 25,42 trillion in 2022 decreased by 7.3 percent to USD 23.54 trillion. In the same period, Turkey increased its share of world exports from 1.02 to 1.09 compared to the previous year, with exports of USD 255 billion. According to TradeMab data, Russia was Turkey’s largest import partner, with USD 45.5 billion, followed by China, with imports worth of USD 45 billion, and Germany, with imports worth of USD 28.7 billion.
The 4 most important chapters for Turkey’s rise in the world import ranking and the increase in its share were 27, 84, 71 and 87. While there was a significant decline in energy among these 4 chapters, the increase continued in the other 3 chapters. It even reached a record high in automotive. In Chapter 27, imports of mineral fuels, mineral oils, and products obtained from their distillation decreased by 28.3 percent in 2023, from USD 96.5 billion to USD 69.1 billion. The second-highest import chapter was Chapter 84. Imports of boilers, machinery, mechanical devices and instruments, nuclear reactors, their parts and components in this chapter increased by 18.5 percent last year to USD 40.9 billion. Imports of precious metals in Chapter 71, including gold, increased by 44.8 percent to USD 33.9 billion.
