The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported on Friday that Türkiye’s export and import volumes experienced sharp declines in May 2026, even as unit values for both rose significantly year-on-year.

The overall export unit value index increased by 14.2% in May compared to the same month of the previous year. Among major categories, fuels recorded the strongest rise at 52.5%, followed by manufactured goods (excluding food, beverages, and tobacco) at 12.0%, crude materials (excluding fuels) at 11.3%, and food, beverages, and tobacco at 8.8%.

However, export volumes contracted markedly. The overall export volume index fell by 20.8% year-on-year. Declines were seen across all main categories: manufactured goods (excluding food, beverages, and tobacco) dropped 21.4%, fuels decreased 20.6%, crude materials (excluding fuels) fell 19.9%, and food, beverages, and tobacco declined 16.0%.

On the import side, the overall import unit value index also rose by 14.2% in May compared to May 2025. Fuels led the surge with a 49.0% increase, while manufactured goods (excluding food, beverages, and tobacco) rose 6.4% and crude materials (excluding fuels) gained 4.3%. The index for food, beverages, and tobacco, however, decreased by 2.4%.

The overall import volume index dropped by 21.8% year-on-year. Manufactured goods (excluding food, beverages, and tobacco) saw the steepest decline at 23.1%, followed by crude materials (excluding fuels) at 6.9%, food, beverages, and tobacco at 6.2%, and fuels at 3.8%.

After calendar and seasonal adjustments, the export volume index rose modestly by 1.2% in May 2026, reaching 147.7 from 146.0 in April. On a calendar-adjusted basis, it stood at 154.1 in May 2026, down 5.5% from 163.2 in May 2025.

The calendar and seasonally adjusted import volume index fell by 6.0% month-on-month to 116.0 in May from 123.4 in April. Calendar-adjusted, it declined 10.0% year-on-year to 120.3 from 133.8.

Türkiye’s terms of trade index, calculated as the ratio of the export unit value index to the import unit value index (multiplied by 100), edged up slightly to 89.6 in May 2026 from 89.5 in May 2025, an increase of 0.1 points.

The data reflects a challenging external trade environment in May, with higher prices (unit values) but significantly lower traded quantities for both exports and imports. (ILKHA)