Page 17 - TURKRptMar21 2

Turkey’s 51 airports served only a little more than 5mn passengers in January, representing a 63% y/y decline.
Some 3.4mn domestic passengers went through the airports in January, translating to a 57% y/y slump. The number of international passengers passing through plunged 79% y/y to 1.9mn.
Foreign tourist arrivals in Turkey declined by 71.5% y/y in the first month of 2021 to 510,000.
Turkish housing sales slumped 38% y/y in January to 70,587 homes. The decline was the fifth consecutive monthly fall. Borrowing costs in recent months have jumped from summer lows with the Turkish central bank’s decision to switch to monetary tightening.
Mortgage sales in January dropped 75%. They accounted for slightly more than 15% of the total number of housing sales.
5.0 External Sector & Trade
5.1 Balance of payments, current account
5.1.1 Import/export dynamics
Turkey's trade deficit expanded by 69% y/y in 2020 to $49.9bn. Top export destination in 2020 was Germany with a value of near $16bn. Next was the UK with $11.2bn, the US with $10.2bn, Iraq with $9.1bn and Italy with $8.7bn.
Most of Turkey's imports last year, worth $23.2 bn, came from China. Germany placed second with $21.7bn, Russia third with $17.9bn, the US fourth with $11.5bn and Italy fifth with $9.2bn.
Turkey's hazelnut exports reached 132,772 tonnes in the first five months of the export season (September to January), marking a 32% y/y decline.
Trade between Iran and Turkey contracted sharply by 45.8% y/y to $3.43bn in 2020.
Turkey's energy imports
USDbn
2019
2020
y/y
Jan-20
Jan-21
y/y
Mineral Fuels
41
28
-33%
4
3
-32%
Brent Oil Price (average)
64
43
-33%
64
55
-14%
Imports
203
209
3%
19
18
-3%
Mineral Fuels/Imports
20%
13%
-7
20%
14%
-6
Trade Deficit
-31
-49
56%
-5
-4
-23%
Mineral Fuels/Trade Deficit
132%
56%
-76
81%
72%
-9
5.1.2 Current account dynamics
Turkey's current account officially swung to a deficit of $37bn in 2020 from a $7bn surplus in 2019.
17 TURKEY Country Report March 2021 www.intellinews.com