Ramallah-Ma'an- The Ministry of National Economy said on Wednesday that Palestinian commodity imports from the Turkish market during the past seven months (January-July) 2024 decreased by 35% compared to the same period last year. According to the customs data of the Ministry of Finance for the mentioned period, the value of Palestinian imports from Turkey amounted to approximately $220 million, compared to $339 million during the same period in 2023. Turkey is the first trading partner of the State of Palestine after the occupying state, as the volume of trade exchange between the two countries is estimated at about one billion US dollars annually, and accordingly the monthly average of trade exchange is estimated at about 80 million dollars. The Ministry of National Economy expects that the volume of trade exchange between Palestine and Turkey will witness a significant increase under the cooperation protocol signed between the Palestinian Minister of Economy and his Turkish counterpart last June to enha nce bilateral trade relations in the short and medium term. The Ministry stressed the daily coordination and follow-up with its Turkish counterpart to facilitate trade between the two countries, and to take all measures that ensure that imports are directly from the Turkish market to the Palestinian market only. The Ministry stated that the follow-up and auditing operations it is conducting with the Palestinian Customs in the Ministry of Finance on the movement of suppliers from global markets, especially Turkey, are essentially proceeding on their normal course and are enhancing the supply of commodity stocks in the Palestinian market. The Ministry called on the public and the media to exercise caution and not to deal with any data and information except from its official sources, especially the rumors spread by the Israeli media aimed at undermining the national interests and the strategic relationship between the State of Palestine and the Republic of Turkey. Source: Maan News Agency