Turkey’s foreign trade deficit rises 75% in March

Data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Friday that the foreign trade deficit rose 75 percent year-on-year to $8.17 billion in March, driven by a 30.7 percent increase in imports.

The data showed that imports amounted to $30.88 billion in March, while exports rose 19.8 percent to $22.71 billion.

Under a new economic program, Turkey aims to achieve a current account surplus by increasing exports while at the same time keeping interest rates low.