“Despite the pandemic, Türkiye's exports reached all-time highs in 11 of the last 12 months and yearly exports reached USD 225.4 billion in 2021 up 32.4 percent year-on-year and the highest such figure in the Republic's history," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled on January 3, at a meeting on 2021 foreign trade data.
“Türkiye's foreign trade deficit in 2021 narrowed by 7.8 percent from the previous year to USD 45.9 billion," noted President Erdoğan adding that the foreign trade volume of Türkiye, which was USD 87.6 billion in 2002, reached USD 496.7 billion in 2021, while the foreign trade coverage ratio climbed 5.8 points to 83.1 percent during the same period.
Emphasizing that Türkiye's exports to its biggest trade partner, the European Union, rose by 33 percent to USD 93.1 billion, President Erdoğan said: “We are pleased that the rise in our exports is equally spread across the world instead of focusing on certain areas. Our exports to South America have risen by 86.6 percent, to non E.U. European countries by 29 percent, to Near and Middle Eastern countries by 22.6 percent, and to North Africa by 44.8 percent."
Türkiye's monthly exports also reached USD 22.3 billion in December, a 24.9 percent increase y-o-y, recording a monthly all-time high. Germany topped the list of top three export destinations for Türkiye in December 2021 with USD 1.781 billion, followed by the United States with USD 1.518 billion and the UK with USD 1.336 billion.