Turkey’s trade gap widens most in 10 years as energy bill swells

Turkey’s preliminary trade figures for January pointed to the biggest gap in a decade as the nation’s energy bill bulged on higher global prices and a weaker currency.

The trade deficit widened by an annual 241% to $10.4 billion in January, according to Trade Ministry data published Wednesday. It would be the largest monthly shortfall since September 2011. Data from the statistics office, to be published at the end of February, has been consistent with the ministry’s figures. 

The main driver of the deficit was imports of mineral oils—an indicator of Turkey’s energy bill—which jumped by 241% to $8.96 billion. Russia, Turkey’s biggest gas supplier, ranked as the top exporter to the country for the second consecutive month.

Turkey has seen its import costs soar over recent months as the lira’s depreciation added to rising commodity prices. The currency weakened 1.1% against the dollar this year, following a slump of 44% in 2021.

Some of the highlights from the trade data: 

• Preliminary exports rose 17% to $17.6 billion, while imports grew 55% to $28 billion
• Imports from Russia jumped 150% to $4.56 billion
• Export-import coverage ratio fell to 62.8% in January from 83% the previous year
• Supply bottlenecks slowed export growth as shipments of motor vehicles, Turkey’s top export item, rose by 1.2% to $1.95 billion