ANKARA: Trkiye's exports totaled $22 billion in September, marking a 1.8% decline year-on-year, the Turkish trade minister announced Wednesday. Imports also dropped by 1.4% in September, reaching $27.1 billion, Omer Bolat said during a press conference in the capital Ankara. The foreign trade deficit for September stood at $5.1 billion, roughly the same as in September 2023, he added. For the third quarter of the year, exports rose 4.4% to $66.6 billion, while imports fell 6.8% to $84 billion compared to the same period last year, Bolat said. The foreign trade deficit for the quarter was $17.4 billion, down 34%. The export-import coverage ratio improved to 79.2%, up from 70.8% a year earlier. In the first nine months of 2023, exports increased 3.2% to $192.8 billion, while imports fell 8% to $252.9 billion, Bolat noted. He highlighted that the foreign trade deficit narrowed by 31.5% to $60.1 billion during the January-September period. Source: Anadolu Agency