Turkey Trade Deficit Smallest in 9 Months

Turkey’s trade deficit narrowed to USD 5.6 billion in May 2026 from USD 6.6 billion in the same month a year earlier. It was the smallest trade gap since August 2025, as exports declined less than imports. Exports fell 9.5% year-on-year to USD 22.5 billion, with shipments decreasing across agriculture, forestry and fishing (-2.2%), mining and quarrying (-2.1%), and manufacturing (-10.0%). Germany remained the top destination, accounting for 7.6% of total exports, followed by the US (6.8%), the UK (6.1%), Italy (5.1%), and Spain (4.1%). Meanwhile, imports declined 10.8% to USD 28.1 billion, weighed down by lower purchases of capital goods (-18.3%), intermediate goods (-4.1%), and consumption goods (-30.1%). Russia remained the leading source of imports, accounting for 13.4%, followed by China (12.2%), Germany (7.3%), and the US (4.3%). In the first five months of the year, the trade deficit widened to USD 42.7 billion from USD 41.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.

Turkey’s trade deficit narrowed to USD 5.6 billion in May 2026 from USD 6.6 billion in the same month a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Trade Ministry. This marks the smallest trade gap since August last year, as exports fell less than imports. Exports declined 9.3% year-on-year to USD 22.5 billion, driven by lower shipments of raw materials (-4.2%), consumer goods (-18.8%), and investment goods (-18.7%). Germany remained the top export destination, followed by the US and Italy. Meanwhile, imports dropped 10.7% to USD 28.1 billion, weighed by decreased purchases of raw materials (-3.9%), consumer goods (-30.1%), and investment goods (-18.4%). China remained the leading source of imports, followed by Russia and Germany. Considering the first five months of the year, the trade deficit widened to USD 42.7 billion from USD 41.1 billion in the same period a year earlier, as imports rose 1.2% while exports increased a slower 0.3%.

Turkey’s trade deficit narrowed to $8.5 billion in April 2026 from $12.1 billion in the same month last year, confirming preliminary data. This was the smallest trade gap since January, driven by strong export growth that far outpaced the rise in imports. Exports surged 22.3% year-on-year to $25.4 billion, mainly driven by the manufacturing sector (22.0%), followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (20.3%), and mining and quarrying (24.5%). Turkey’s main export partners were Germany (8.3%), the US (6.3%), the UK (5.7%), Italy (5.3%), and Spain (4.1%). Imports rose 3.1% to $33.9 billion due to higher imports of intermediate goods (5.6%) and capital goods (1.6%), which offset a 6.8% drop in consumer goods. The top sources of imports were China (13.2%), Russia (13.0%), Germany (7.0%), the US (5.5%), and Italy (4.0%). In the January-April period, the trade gap widened to $37.1 billion from $34.6 billion a year ago, with imports (4.3%) rising more than exports (3.0%).