The nation logged a record trade deficit last year, and the first in 14 years, due to high energy prices.

According to data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sunday, the country posted an all-time high in exports in 2022 of 683-point-nine billion U.S. dollars, up six-point-one percent from a year earlier.

Annual imports jumped to a whopping 731-point-two billion dollars, surging 18-point-nine percent, resulting in a trade deficit of 47-point-two billion dollars.

It marks the first time the nation logged a trade deficit since 2008, when it posted a shortfall of 13-point-three billion dollars. The red ink is more than double that of the previous largest-ever deficit of 20-point-six billion dollars of 1996.

For the month of December, exports decreased nine-point-five percent on-year to 55 billion dollars, while imports fell two-point-four percent on-year to 59-point-seven billion dollars, logging a deficit of four-point-69 billion dollars. Exports declined for the third consecutive month since October.