ANKARA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Trade Minister Omer Bolat said on Thursday that the country's foreign trade deficit narrowed 15.7 percent year-on-year to 42.7 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of 2026, as imports dropped faster than exports in May.

Exports fell 9.3 percent year-on-year to 22.5 billion dollars in May, while imports dropped 10.7 percent to 28.1 billion dollars, Bolat said at a press conference in the capital Ankara.

"In May 2025, we broke the republic's monthly export record with 24.8 billion dollars. Public holidays in May naturally had a negative impact on exports, but they also reduced imports and the foreign trade deficit," he said.

During the first five months this year, Türkiye's exports rose 0.3 percent to 111.2 billion dollars, while imports climbed 1.2 percent to nearly 154 billion dollars, according to the minister.

Bolat said Türkiye's imports were restrained by lower gold and automotive imports, while oil imports rose by nearly 2.5 billion dollars. Natural gas imports remained largely unchanged.

He mentioned Türkiye's medium-high and high-technology product exports accounted for 44 percent of total exports during the first five months.

The European Union (EU) remained Türkiye's largest export market, with shipments to the bloc rising 0.6 percent to 48.6 billion dollars, representing 43 percent of total exports. Germany was Türkiye's top destination, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Iraq.

Bolat said exports to Gulf countries were affected by the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, with shipments falling 30 percent month-on-month before recovering in April and May.

By product group, defense industry exports saw the largest rise during the first five months, soaring 943 million dollars, followed by ship exports with 683 million dollars, electrical machinery and equipment with 604 million dollars, motor vehicles with 445 million dollars, and fruit exports with 322 million dollars. ■