UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES BY MINISTER; ADDS MINISTRY DATA
By Mustafa Gungor and Tuba Sahin
ADANA (AA) – Turkey's exports in October reached the highest monthly figure of the country's history, Turkish trade minister said on Thursday.
Last month, the country's exports rose 13.1 percent year-on-year to reach $15.7 billion, Ruhsar Pekcan said in the southern province of Adana.
She was addressing a meeting where she revealed preliminary Trade Ministry data.
Turkey’s exports were mostly to Germany, the U.K. and Italy, Pekcan said.
The top destination for Turkish goods was Germany, with exports worth $1.5 billion.
She noted that country's exports to target markets soar swiftly.
“Our exports to Mexico advanced 14 percent, to India 16 percent and to Latin America 41 percent, ” she said.
Pekcan added that exports to Africa, also surged by 25 percent annually in October.
Imports of Turkey went down by 23.5 percent to $16.2 billion in October, Pekcan said.
Russia topped the list of countries from which Turkey imports with $1.9 billion. It was followed by Germany with $1.6 billion and China with $1.4 billion.
Foreign trade gap plummeted on a yearly basis in the month, according to the data.
The country posted foreign trade deficit of $529 million for October, down 93 percent from the same month last year.
The foreign trade volume dropped to $32 billion during the month, falling 9 percent.
The exports-to-imports coverage ratio reached to 96.7 percent in September, up from 65.4 percent in October 2017.
