Turkey's Official Trade Deficit Widens in 2011

Turkey's trade deficit widened by 47.7 percent in 2011 as both exports and imports increased, official data showed on Tuesday.

The gap reached 105.8 billion dollars (80.2 billion euros) from 71.6 billion dollars in 2010, the state statistics institute said.

Imports rose by 29.8 percent last year, reaching 240.8 billion dollars, while exports were up by 18.5 percent to 134.9 billion dollars, it said.

Turkey, a country of about 75 million and the world's 17th-biggest economy, shows one of the highest growth rates in the world, with its economy growing by 8.9 percent in 2010.

Despite Turkey's breakneck economic growth, Turkish authorities predict a decline in economic indicators in 2012. The government forecasts growth of 8.0 percent for 2011 and 4.0 percent in 2012 owing to the Eurozone crisis.

The Turkish lira has been losing value steadily against US dollar meanwhile, falling by around 20 percent in 2011, according to official figures.