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Türkiye’s Foreign Trade Deficit Narrows 16.7% in August to $4.2 Billion

Trade Deficit

Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit fell by 16.7% year-on-year in August 2025, totaling $4.2 billion, according to official data from the Ministry of Trade.

  • Exports: $21.8 billion (↓ 0.9% YoY)

  • Imports: $26.0 billion (↓ 3.9% YoY)

  • Total trade volume: $47.8 billion (↓ 2.5% YoY)

Over the January–August 2025 period, exports rose 4.3% to $178.1 billion, while imports climbed 5.6% to $238.2 billion, bringing total trade volume to $416.3 billion.

Trade Balance Ratios Improve

The report highlighted significant progress in Türkiye’s export-to-import coverage ratio:

  • Overall: 83.9% (↑ 2.4 points YoY)

  • Excluding energy: 97.1% (↑ 1.9 points)

  • Excluding energy and gold: 101.8% (↑ 3.2 points)

This improvement indicates that non-energy and non-gold trade is moving closer to balance.

Top Export and Import Partners

Exports (August 2025):

  • Germany: $1.78B

  • USA: $1.28B

  • UK: $1.16B

The top 10 export markets accounted for 46.2% of total exports.

Imports (August 2025):

  • China: $3.90B

  • Russia: $3.29B

  • Germany: $2.26B

The top 10 import markets made up 59.4% of total imports.

By regions, Türkiye’s largest export destinations were the EU-27 ($9.1B), Near & Middle East ($3.8B), and Other European countries ($3.2B). Imports were dominated by the EU-27 ($8.1B), Asian countries ($7.5B), and Other European countries ($5.0B).

Sectoral Breakdown

Exports by Sector (August 2025)

  • Manufacturing: 94.9% ($20.7B)

  • Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries: 2.7% ($598M)

  • Mining & Quarrying: 1.6% ($348M)

Imports by Sector (August 2025)

  • Manufacturing: 82.3% ($21.4B)

  • Mining & Quarrying: 12.7% ($3.3B)

  • Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries: 2.5% ($641M)

Trade by Economic Groups (BEC Classification)

Exports

  • Intermediate goods: $11.1B (↓ 3.4%)

  • Consumer goods: $7.2B (↓ 4.3%)

  • Capital goods: $3.1B (↑ 11.2%)

Imports

  • Intermediate goods: $17.7B (↓ 5.8%)

  • Capital goods: $4.3B (↑ 2.9%)

  • Consumer goods: $3.9B (↓ 3.4%)

Outlook

The decline in the August trade deficit reflects both lower imports and improved coverage ratios, signaling resilience in Türkiye’s external balance despite global economic headwinds. Analysts expect exports of high-value capital goods to continue supporting trade performance, while energy costs remain a key determinant for overall deficit levels.

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