Economic News: Türkiye Will Participate in BRICS. Export Record

Türkiye will participate in the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting for the first time.

This was announced by the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. He also expressed the opinion that BRICS could be considered as a "good alternative" to the EU, of which Türkiye has been a candidate since 1999.

The meeting of the foreign ministers of BRICS countries will take place in Nizhny Novgorod on June 10-11. Minister Fidan will participate in it.

Since 2024, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia have joined the bloc, and statements have been made by Belarus, Venezuela, Thailand, and other countries.

Türkiye's desire to join BRICS was announced by the country's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan back in July 2018.


Türkiye recorded the highest monthly export figure in May 2024.

Last month, exports increased by 11% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching nearly $24.1 billion, which Minister of Trade Omer Bolat called "a new record in the history of our republic."

Imports fell by 10.3% compared to the previous year to $30.6 billion.

"With the increase in exports and the decrease in imports, our foreign trade deficit decreased by 47.8% on an annual basis (33.9% on a monthly basis) and decreased to $6.5 billion," the minister added.

According to the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), from January to May, the deficit fell by approximately 34.4% compared to the previous year, to $36.8 billion.

Exports increased by 4.5% to $106.9 billion for the five-month period, while imports fell by 9.3% to $143.7 billion.

The export-to-import ratio increased by 15.3 percentage points to 78.7%.

Annual exports also reached a new record high of $260.1 billion, up 2.3% compared to the previous year.

Türkiye's share in global exports increased from 1.02% in 2022 to 1.08% in 2023, the highest level in history.

As of the end of May, the annual foreign trade deficit amounted to $87 billion compared to $122.2 billion last year.

Service exports for the first five months of the year increased by 8% compared to the same period last year, reaching $36.2 billion.

In 2023, Türkiye surpassed the $100 billion mark in service exports for the first time.