Turkey's foreign trade deficit reached $13.2 billion; the economy is still "balancing."

Mehmet Şimşek, the minister of finance and treasury, said on Saturday that the international trade imbalance has improved annually and has totalled $13.2 billion (TL 414.35 billion) in the first two months of the year. This indicates that the economy is still "balancing."

"The programme is working," Imşek said in a social media post assessing the February foreign trade figures. January and February saw a total of $13.2 billion in yearly improvements to the international trade imbalance.

The economy is still in equilibrium. Net exports should positively impact GDP in the first quarter, as we anticipate.

In the January-February period, the nation's exports increased by 8.5% to $41.1 billion, while imports fell by 15.5% to $54.3 billion, as per the general trade system statistics assessed by the Anadolu Agency.

During that time frame, the export-import coverage ratio was determined to be 75.6%, and the international trade deficit shrank by 49.9% to $13.2 billion.

Ömer Bolat, the minister of trade, revealed the figures for February earlier on Saturday. He said that Turkey's monthly exports increased to $21.1 billion, a 13.6% increase over the previous year.

The international trade imbalance decreased to around $6.3 billion in January from $14.29 billion in the same month the previous year, according to figures released earlier this week by the nation's statistical agency. This represents a 56.4% year-over-year decline.

To prevent persistent current account deficits and maintain sustainable economic development, the government views exports as one of its main sources of reliance.

With a 0.6% increase in 2023 over 2022, the nation's overall exports hit a record $255.8 billion; however, officials predict that by the end of this year, shipments will have reached $267 billion.