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ANKARA - ``Foreign trade deficit will probably amount to 40 billion USD at the end of 2006,`` said Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen on Wednesday.
Taking the floor at a meeting of the Turkish Exporters` Assembly (TIM) in Ankara, Tuzmen noted that the export/import ratio in May 2006 shrinked back to 52 percent.
``Imports figures for June 2006 have not been made public yet, but it is anticipated to exceed 10 billion USD. The export/import ratio is expected to be 70 percent for June,`` he noted.
Tuzmen indicated that Turkey`s foreign trade would reach 200 billion USD at the end of this year.
Stating that Turkey adopted an ``export-oriented growth`` model, but is unable to implement it properly due to lower foreign exchange rate, Tuzmen indicated that new ratio of forex could be considered an opportunity to implement this model.