Türkiye's exports increased by 8.1 per cent year-on-year in August 2026 to $23.467 billion, while imports rose 10.5 per cent to $28.706 billion, according to provisional foreign trade data released jointly by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Ministry of Trade.

The country's foreign trade deficit widened by 22.3 per cent from $4.283 billion in August 2025 to $5.239 billion in the same month this year.

The export-to-import coverage ratio fell to 81.7 per cent in August 2026, down from 83.5 per cent a year earlier.

Exports up 4 per cent in first eight months

During the January–August 2026 period, Türkiye's exports rose 4 per cent compared with the same period last year, reaching $184.996 billion.

Imports increased 5.3 per cent to $250.790 billion, pushing the foreign trade deficit up 9.3 per cent to $65.793 billion.

The export-to-import coverage ratio declined from 74.7 per cent in the first eight months of 2025 to 73.8 per cent during the corresponding period of 2026.

Manufacturing dominates exports

Manufacturing accounted for 93.6 per cent of total exports in August, while agriculture, forestry and fishing represented 3.2 per cent, and mining and quarrying contributed 2.3 per cent.

On the import side, intermediate goods made up 70.7 per cent of total imports, followed by capital goods at 13.5 per cent and consumer goods at 15.5 per cent.

Germany remains top export destination

Germany was Türkiye's largest export market in August, with exports totalling $1.760 billion.

The United States ranked second with $1.731 billion, followed by the United Kingdom with $1.203 billion, Iraq with $1.079 billion and Switzerland with $1.073 billion.

China remained Türkiye's largest source of imports at $4.706 billion, followed by Germany with $2.068 billion, Russia with $1.935 billion, the United States with $1.872 billion, and Italy with $1.374 billion.

Energy and gold excluded

Excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, exports increased 2.7 per cent year-on-year to $20.831 billion, while imports under the same category rose 9.6 per cent to $21.919 billion.

The resulting trade deficit in this category stood at $1.088 billion, while total trade volume reached $42.749 billion, marking an increase of 6.1 per cent.

The export-to-import coverage ratio excluding energy products and non-monetary gold was 95 per cent.

High-tech exports and seasonally adjusted data

High-technology products accounted for 3.6 per cent of manufacturing exports in August and 3.7 per cent during the January–August period.

Their share in manufacturing imports stood at 12.0 per cent in August and 12.1 per cent during the first eight months of the year.

According to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data, exports increased 0.6 per cent compared with July, while imports declined 1.1 per cent.

Under the special trade system, August exports rose 7.2 per cent year-on-year to $20.943 billion, while imports increased 8.1 per cent to $26.654 billion. (ILKHA)