Türkiye’s exports rose 15.3% year-on-year to $25.97 billion in September 2026, while imports increased 5.6% to $31.13 billion, narrowing the country’s foreign trade deficit by 25.8%, according to official data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Wednesday.

The foreign trade deficit fell to $5.16 billion in September from a year earlier, while the ratio of exports to imports improved to 83.4% from 76.4%, TurkStat said, citing provisional data compiled in cooperation with the Trade Ministry.

Excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, exports increased 10.5% year-on-year to $23.39 billion, while imports rose 6.7% to $23.93 billion. The resulting trade deficit in this category was $541 million.

For the January-September period, Türkiye’s exports increased 5.2% from a year earlier to $210.95 billion, while imports rose 5.3% to $281.92 billion.

The cumulative trade deficit widened 5.7% to $70.97 billion, with the export coverage ratio edging down to 74.8% from 74.9%.

Germany was Türkiye’s largest export market in September, with shipments worth $2.05 billion, followed by the United States at $1.91 billion, the United Kingdom at $1.44 billion, Iraq at $1.19 billion and Italy at $1.13 billion.

The five leading destinations accounted for 29.7% of total exports during the month.

In the first nine months of the year, Germany also ranked first, with exports of $17.09 billion. It was followed by the United States at $13.80 billion, the United Kingdom at $12.13 billion, Italy at $10.31 billion and Spain at $8.45 billion.

China remained Türkiye’s largest source of imports in September, supplying goods worth $5.26 billion. Germany followed with $2.25 billion, ahead of Russia at $1.85 billion, the United States at $1.78 billion and Italy at $1.14 billion.

The five largest import partners accounted for 39.4% of total imports in September.

For January-September, China led imports with $41.32 billion, followed by Russia at $27.96 billion, Germany at $20.32 billion, the United States at $15.15 billion and Italy at $11.31 billion.

Manufacturing products accounted for 93.4% of Türkiye’s total exports in September, while agriculture, forestry and fishing represented 3.5% and mining and quarrying accounted for 2.2%.

Intermediate goods made up 69.9% of imports, followed by capital goods at 15.4% and consumer goods at 14.6%.

High-technology products accounted for 4.1% of manufacturing exports in September, compared with 3.7% during the January-September period. High-technology products represented 12.7% of manufacturing imports in September and 12.1% in the first nine months.

The figures highlight the continued dominance of manufacturing in Türkiye’s export structure, alongside a substantial reliance on imported intermediate goods.

After seasonal and calendar adjustments, exports increased 2.1% in September compared with August, while imports rose 2.8%, TurkStat said.

Under the special trade system, which uses a narrower statistical coverage than the general trade system, September exports rose 14.8% year-on-year to $23.51 billion, while imports increased 3.0% to $28.85 billion.

The special-system trade deficit narrowed 29.2% to $5.35 billion, and the export coverage ratio rose to 81.5% from 73.0%.

For January-September, special-system exports climbed 5.6% to $192.11 billion, while imports increased 5.5% to $264.68 billion. The resulting deficit widened 5.3% to $72.57 billion, with exports covering 72.6% of imports, compared with 72.5% a year earlier. (ILKHA)