ANKARA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's trade deficit recorded 61.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2023, up 19.1 percent from the same period last year, the trade ministry said Monday.
The exports dropped by 1.8 percent year on year to 123.4 billion dollars in the first half of 2023, while its imports rose 4.3 percent from a year earlier to 184.8 billion dollars, said the ministry.
As for the monthly figure in June, the trade deficit saw a decrease of 34.5 percent to 5.39 billion dollars compared to the same period last year.
The exports dropped by 10.5 percent to 20.9 billion dollars in June compared to the same period last year while the imports decreased by 16.8 percent, standing at 26.3 billion dollars.
The ministry said the decrease in exports was due to the pause in orders and deliveries during the nine-day Eid al-Adha holiday, while the decline in imports was mainly due to the decrease in energy imports.
On June 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country aimed at increasing its exports to 265 billion dollars by the end of 2023.
