Economy Turkey’s exports to Russia surge 262% in March By Reuters April 5, 2023 Reuters/Tatiana Meel Trade minister Mehmet Mus said the majority of the economic impact due to earthquakes was reflected in February and March Turkey’s exports to Russia jumped 262 percent year-on-year in March, according to Turkish exporters’ assembly figures, reflecting the surge in bilateral trade since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year sparked a flurry of Western sanctions. Turkey, Black Sea neighbours with Russia and Ukraine, opposes both the war and the Western sanctions. Last month it halted the transit of Western-sanctioned goods to Russia following a year of mounting US and European pressure on Ankara for action, according to a top export official and a diplomat. Elsewhere, Turkey’s trade deficit rose 3.7 percent year-on-year in March to $8.57 billion, the trade ministry said, as February’s earthquakes and rising energy costs weighed on the trade balance. Turkey’s exports rose 4.4 percent to $23.6 billion in March, while imports climbed 4.2 percent to $32.17 billion, the data showed. Trade minister Mehmet Mus said the majority of the economic impact due to earthquakes, which devastated the southeast, was reflected in February and March and he expects limited further impact on trade. In the January-March period the trade deficit increased by 31.5 percent to $34.9 billion, the ministry said.
