Turkey Trade Deficit Drops 25.8 Percent in September
Turkey's foreign trade deficit fell to $5.16 billion in September 2026 as export growth outpaced import increases.
The Turkish Statistical Institute and the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye reported that the country's foreign trade deficit decreased by 25.8 percent year-on-year in September 2026. The deficit fell to $5.16 billion, down from $6.96 billion in September 2025.
This narrowing gap was driven by exports growing 15.3 percent to nearly $26 billion, while imports rose by only 5.6 percent to $31.13 billion. Consequently, exports covered 83.4 percent of imports during the month, an improvement over the 76.4 percent coverage recorded in September 2025. When excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, the trade shortfall for September was $541 million, with exports covering 97.7 percent of imports.
Despite the September improvement, the overall trade deficit for the first nine months of 2026 widened by 5.7 percent to $70.97 billion. From January to September, total exports reached nearly $211 billion, a 5.2 percent increase, while imports totaled $281.9 billion, up 5.3 percent.
Germany remained the primary export partner, followed by the United States, United Kingdom, Iraq, and Italy. China served as the top source of imports, followed by Germany, the United States, and Italy.
