Türkiye’s exports and imports both declined in May 2026 compared with the same month last year, while the foreign trade deficit narrowed, according to data released Tuesday by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

Under the general trade system, exports fell by 9.5% to 22.46 billion dollars, while imports dropped by 10.8% to 28.07 billion dollars in May 2026 compared with May 2025.

Despite the monthly declines, data covering the January–May 2026 period showed a slight annual increase. Exports rose by 0.2% to 111.12 billion dollars, while imports increased by 1.1% to 153.83 billion dollars.

The foreign trade deficit stood at 5.61 billion dollars in May, down 15.6% year-on-year. The export coverage ratio of imports rose to 80%, compared to 78.9% in the same month last year.

Excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, exports decreased by 11.5% to 20.5 billion dollars, while imports fell by 16.2% to 21.02 billion dollars in May. The resulting foreign trade deficit in this category was 525 million dollars, with a coverage ratio of 97.5%.

Foreign trade volume excluding these items declined by 13.9% to 41.53 billion dollars.

Manufacturing industries continued to dominate Türkiye’s exports, accounting for 94.5% of total exports in May. Agriculture, forestry and fishing made up 3.3%, while mining and quarrying accounted for 1.6%.

On the import side, intermediate goods represented 72.7% of total imports, followed by capital goods at 13.4% and consumer goods at 13.8%.

High-technology products accounted for 3.1% of manufacturing exports in May, while their share in manufacturing imports stood at 11.8%.

Germany remained Türkiye’s top export destination in May with 1.71 billion dollars, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. These five countries accounted for 29.7% of total exports.

On the import side, Russia ranked first with 3.76 billion dollars, followed by China, Germany, the United States and Italy.

For the January–May period, Germany also led exports, while China ranked first in imports.

Under the special trade system, exports in May fell by 8.9% to 20.63 billion dollars, while imports decreased by 10% to 26.39 billion dollars. The trade deficit under this system narrowed by 13.6% to 5.76 billion dollars.

For January–May, exports rose by 1% to 101.93 billion dollars, while imports increased by 2.1% to 145.58 billion dollars, resulting in a 4.7% rise in the trade deficit over the period. (ILKHA)