Turkey’s Exports Hit Record High in September, But Trade Deficit Widens

Summary:

Turkey posted its highest-ever September export figures, reaching $22.6 billion, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced. While exports grew by 3% year-on-year, imports surged by 8.8% to $29.5 billion, pushing the monthly trade deficit up by one-third to $6.9 billion. For the first nine months of 2025, exports rose 4.1% to $200.6 billion, but imports climbed faster at 5.9% to $267.6 billion.

Record-breaking September exports

Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat confirmed that September exports rose to $22.6 billion, marking a 3% increase from the $21.9 billion recorded in September 2024. This set a new all-time high for the month of September.

On a 12-month rolling basis, exports grew 3.2% to reach $269.7 billion, also an all-time record.

“September saw records in both monthly and annualized merchandise exports,” Bolat said. “In the first nine months of 2025, exports rose in seven out of nine months, increasing by $8 billion compared with last year.”

Imports outpace exports

Imports, however, expanded more sharply. September imports rose 8.8% to $29.49 billion, widening the trade deficit to $6.9 billion, up 33.4% from a year earlier.

According to Bolat, around $2.3 billion of the September deficit stemmed from net gold imports, reflecting volatility in precious metals demand.

For January–September 2025 as a whole, imports climbed 5.9% to $267.65 billion, while exports rose 4.1% to $200.62 billion. This left Turkey with a nine-month trade gap of $67 billion, up 11.8% from the $60 billion deficit during the same period last year.

Services exports add to growth

Bolat also highlighted progress in the services sector. Between January and September 2025, services exports are estimated to have reached $91.3 billion, up $3.2 billion from the previous year.

Annualized services exports are forecast to rise by 6.1% to $120.4 billion, helping Turkey meet its $390 billion combined goods and services export target for 2025.

Key export and import partners

Germany remained Turkey’s top export destination in September, with shipments worth $1.9 billion, followed by the U.K. at $1.36 billion and the U.S. at $1.34 billion. Italy and Iraq rounded out the top five. The top 10 countries together accounted for nearly half (47.5%) of Turkey’s total exports.

On the import side, China led with $4.27 billion, followed by Russia at $3.25 billion and Germany at $2.36 billion. Switzerland and the U.S. were also among Turkey’s largest import suppliers.

Sector breakdown: manufacturing dominates

According to the Broad Economic Categories (BEC) classification, Turkey’s exports in September were led by:

• Intermediate goods (raw materials): $11.45 billion

• Consumer goods: $7.69 billion

• Capital goods: $3.06 billion

By sector, manufacturing continued to dominate exports with a 94.5% share, followed by agriculture, forestry and fisheries (3%), and mining and quarrying (1.8%).

Imports showed a similar distribution: 85% from manufacturing, 10.1% from mining and quarrying, and 2.2% from agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Looking ahead

Despite record exports, Turkey’s widening trade deficit remains a challenge, particularly with gold imports distorting the balance. The government hopes that sustained growth in both goods and services exports will help offset import pressures and support its ambitious $390 billion export target.