Türkiye’s exports rose 15.3% year on year in September to $25.97 billion while imports grew 5.6% to $31.13 billion, narrowing the monthly trade deficit by 25.8% to $5.16 billion, according to foreign trade statistics the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) published at 10:00 on Wednesday, as reported by Foreks and CNBC-e.
The figures, compiled with the Ministry of Trade under the general trade system, are close to the preliminary data the ministry released in early October, which showed exports of $25.976 billion (+15.4%) and a $5.2 billion deficit (−24.8%), as we reported at the time. TÜİK’s release adds the country, sector and product breakdown.
Coverage ratio up, nine-month gap wider
Exports covered 83.4% of imports in September, up from 76.4% a year earlier, Foreks reported. Over January–September, exports reached $210.95 billion (+5.2%) and imports $281.92 billion (+5.3%), leaving a cumulative deficit of $70.97 billion, 5.7% higher than in the same period of 2025. The nine-month coverage ratio was 74.8%.
Excluding energy and non-monetary gold, September exports were $23.39 billion (+10.5%) and imports $23.93 billion (+6.7%), leaving a gap of only $541 million and a coverage ratio of 97.7%.
On seasonally and calendar-adjusted figures, exports rose 2.1% and imports 2.8% from August.
Germany top buyer, China top supplier
Germany remained the largest export market in September at $2.05 billion, followed by the United States ($1.91 billion), the United Kingdom ($1.44 billion), Iraq ($1.19 billion) and Italy ($1.13 billion). The top five took 29.7% of all exports.
China was again the biggest source of imports at $5.26 billion, ahead of Germany ($2.25 billion), Russia ($1.85 billion), the United States ($1.78 billion) and Italy ($1.14 billion), together accounting for 39.4% of imports.
Manufacturing made up 93.4% of exports, agriculture, forestry and fishing 3.5% and mining 2.2%. High-technology goods accounted for 4.1% of manufactured exports in September, against 12.7% of manufactured imports. By end use, intermediate goods made up 69.9% of imports, capital goods 15.4% and consumer goods 14.6%.
Context
The government’s 2027 Annual Programme projects exports of $282 billion for 2026 and a full-year trade deficit of about $105 billion, as we reported on Tuesday.
Sources
- İhracatın yüzde 93,4’ü imalat sanayinden geldi (Foreks)
- Dış ticaret açığı eylülde 5,2 milyar dolara geriledi (CNBC-e)
- 2026 yılı Eylül ayı geçici Dış Ticaret Verileri açıklandı (SBB)
Photo: Sakhalinio / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
