FX.co ★ Turkey Trade Deficit Largest in Nearly 2 Years

In April 2025, Turkey saw its trade deficit increase to USD 12.09 billion, up from USD 9.89 billion in April of the previous year. This figure represents the largest trade deficit since July 2023. The deficit expansion was driven by a 12.7% rise in imports year-on-year, reaching USD 32.89 billion. This surge was largely due to higher acquisitions of capital goods (up by 14.5%), intermediate goods (increased by 12.5%), and consumer goods (up by 10.3%). The primary countries contributing to this increase in imports were China (12.7%), Russia (10.9%), and Germany (8.4%). On the export front, there was a more moderate growth of 7.8%, totaling USD 20.8 billion. This was mainly fueled by increased sales in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, and fishing (8.2%), mining and quarrying (6.1%), and manufacturing (7.6%). Germany (8.5%) and the UK (6.5%) emerged as the largest markets for Turkish exports. Additionally, exports to the US saw a 5.5% rise, likely in anticipation of upcoming US tariffs on Turkish products. Over the first four months of the year, the trade deficit accumulated to USD 34.59 billion, compared to USD 30.15 billion in the same timeframe of 2024.