Turkey's exports in the first quarter has reached a record high of 44.5 billion U.S. dollars, the trade minister announced Thursday.
The exports in the first three months of 2019 surged 3.34 percent year-on-year, calculated by the general trade system, Ruhsar Pekcan said at a news conference in the capital Ankara.
During the same period, Turkey's imports amounted to 50.5 billon dollars with an annual decline of 21.46 percent, Pekcan added.
Turkey's deficit posted a significant decline in March, she noted.
The exports-to-imports coverage ratio, an indicator of external financing need, rose to 88.2 percent in the first quarter from 67.1 percent last year, according to the Turkish minister.
After a serious currency depreciation in 2018, the Turkish government sharply lowered its growth forecast for 2019 to 2.3 percent in a medium-term economic program unveiled last September.
