Turkey’s Foreign Trade Indices: January 2024 Analysis

Table of Contents

Turkey’s foreign trade indices for January 2024 have been released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu, TÜİK). The data provides valuable insights into the country’s export and import performance compared to the previous year. Let’s dive into the details and analyze the key findings.

Export Performance

The overall export unit value index decreased by 3.3% in January 2024 compared to January 2023[1].
The export volume index, on the other hand, increased by 7.0% in the same period[1].

The table below shows the changes in export unit value and volume indices for various sectors:

Sector	Unit Value Index Change (%)	Volume Index Change (%)
Food, beverages and tobacco	0.6	21.4
Crude materials (except fuels)	-5.9	0.8
Fuels	-13.9	34.2
Manufactured goods (except food, beverages and tobacco)	-2.9	3.7

The data suggests that while the unit value of exports decreased, the volume of exports increased, particularly in the food, beverages, and tobacco sector, as well as fuels.

Import Performance

The overall import unit value index decreased by 9.3% in January 2024 compared to January 2023[1].
The import volume index also decreased by 13.9% in the same period[1].

The table below shows the changes in import unit value and volume indices for various sectors:

Sector	Unit Value Index Change (%)	Volume Index Change (%)
Food, beverages and tobacco	-5.3	-0.2
Crude materials (except fuels)	-5.6	3.9
Fuels	-31.8	8.9
Manufactured goods (except food, beverages and tobacco)	-1.2	-5.6

The data indicates that both the unit value and volume of imports decreased, with the most significant decrease in the fuels sector.

Calendar and Seasonally Adjusted Indices

The calendar and seasonally adjusted export volume index decreased by 5.6% in January 2024 compared to December 2023[1].
The calendar and seasonally adjusted import volume index decreased by 4.1% in the same period[1].

These adjusted indices provide a more accurate picture of the trade performance by eliminating the effects of calendar and seasonal factors.

Terms of Trade

The terms of trade, calculated by dividing the export unit value index by the import unit value index and multiplying by 100, increased from 80.7 in January 2023 to 86.1 in January 2024[1].

This improvement in the terms of trade indicates that Turkey’s export prices have increased relative to its import prices, which is a positive development for the country’s trade balance.