Türkiye's September exports rise to $22.5B as trade gap widens

Türkiye's export economy continued its growth trajectory in September, with shipments abroad rising 2.8% compared to the same month last year to reach $22.5 billion. According to the latest Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data released Friday, this positive performance was nonetheless overshadowed by a faster increase in imports, which jumped 8.7% to $29.4 billion, creating a trade deficit of $6.9 billion for the month.

Sectoral Breakdown and Key Trading Partners

The manufacturing sector remained the backbone of Türkiye's export performance, accounting for 94.5% of all September exports. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing contributed 3%, while mining and quarrying made up 1.8%. A promising indicator was the share of medium-high and high-tech products in manufacturing exports, which together represented 43.4%. Germany was the top destination for Turkish goods at $1.9 billion, followed by the United Kingdom ($1.38 billion) and the United States ($1.35 billion).

Import Sources and the Energy Factor

On the import side, China was the leading source of goods flowing into Türkiye with $4.2 billion, followed by Russia at $3.24 billion and Germany at $2.36 billion. The significant role of energy imports was highlighted by the data, which showed that when energy and non-monetary gold are excluded from the calculation, the foreign trade deficit for September was a much lower $1.2 billion.

Nine-Month Performance and Economic Outlook

For the first nine months of the year, the cumulative picture shows exports totaling $192.6 billion, a 4.1% increase from the same period in 2023. Imports for January-September reached $252.6 billion, up 5.9%, resulting in a widening foreign trade deficit of $67 billion. This represents an 11.8% increase in the deficit compared to the first three quarters of the previous year, pointing to persistent economic headwinds.