Türkiye's exports see record high November figure

Türkiye's exports have seen a record-high November figure at $23 billion, as overseas shipments increased 5.2 percent from a year earlier.

"Despite all the challenges and problems", exports grew for five consecutive months up to December, the country's Trade Minister Omer Bolat announced on Saturday, addressing a news conference in Istanbul on Türkiye's preliminary foreign trade data.

Turkish imports, on the other hand, fell 5.6 percent from the prior year to $28.9 billion in November, he added.

Thus, the country's foreign trade deficit continued to narrow in November, down 32.6 percent year-on-year to $5.9 billion, Bolat said, adding that the export-import coverage ratio rose 8.2 points to 79.5 percent in the same period.

In the January-November period, Türkiye's exports hit $232.9 billion, edging up by 0.7 percent from last year while its inbound shipments ticked down 0.5 percent to $332.8 billion, he said.

"We estimated that the negative impact of the February 6 earthquakes on our exports in the February-November period is over $6 billion," Bolat added.

The trade minister said that thanks to a hike in exports and a decline in imports, Türkiye's trade gap shrank for the fourth month in a row.

The figure plunged 32.6 percent at an annualised pace to $5.9 billion in the month, he added.