Türkiye’s annualized exports of goods and services reached a record $409.1 billion as of September 2026, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said in figures published on Oct. 29, Republic Day, according to Daily Sabah. That leaves the country $0.9 billion short of the $410 billion year-end target for goods and services reported by Hürriyet Daily News.
The figure is a rolling total for October 2025 through September 2026, and it splits into $283.7 billion of goods and an estimated $125.4 billion of services, Hürriyet Daily News reported.
“The highest level in the history of our republic,” Bolat, the trade minister, said of the total, according to Daily Sabah. For importers and procurement heads in the EU, the Gulf, and Asia, the sharper question is whether Türkiye is becoming a higher-value supplier or simply a larger one, and the sector and trade figures Bolat released bear on both.
On goods alone, the 12-month total of $283.7 billion exceeds the $282 billion goods target set in the government’s 2026 Medium-Term Program, Hürriyet Daily News reported. Annualized here means the sum of the latest 12 months of shipments, not a calendar-year result. In 2002, Turkish goods exports were $36.1 billion, according to Daily Sabah.
Defense and pharmaceutical exports earn far more per kilogram than the national average, Bolat said, according to Anadolu Agency, while imports still exceed exports. The unresolved question is whether Türkiye closes the last $0.9 billion by year-end while holding the full-year deficit below $100 billion, the line Bolat said the government would work to keep, according to Hürriyet Daily News. Gulf buyers weighing Turkish suppliers can also follow Türkiye-Saudi halal accreditation cooperation.
Higher-Tech Goods Reach 44.1% of Türkiye’s Manufacturing Exports
Medium-high and high-technology products made up 44.1% of Türkiye’s manufacturing exports in September 2026, up from 30.4% in 2002, Daily Sabah reported. The September figure is annualized. The sources differ on the year in between. Daily Sabah puts the 2025 share at 43.5%, while Anadolu Agency, reporting Bolat’s figures on Oct. 17, gives 43.7% for the end of 2025.
In dollar terms, high-tech exports grew from $10 billion in 2002 to $112 billion at the end of 2025, according to Anadolu Agency. Over a similar span, total goods exports rose from $36.1 billion in 2002 to $283.7 billion on a 12-month basis, per Daily Sabah. A rising share means these goods have grown faster than Türkiye’s manufacturing exports as a whole.
Export Value per Kilogram Separates Defense From Bulk Goods
Among the sectors Bolat cited, clothing and defense earn the most per kilogram. Türkiye’s average export unit value stood at $1.73 per kilogram, or $2.11 when high-tonnage, low-value items such as cement and marble are excluded, Bolat said, according to Anadolu Agency. Defense exports reached $61.5 per kilogram and pharmaceuticals $25, he said. Ships and yachts came in at $14 per kilogram, and the auto sector at $9.
Ready-to-wear clothing fetched $80 to $100 per kilogram, according to the same Anadolu Agency report, above defense on this measure. The metric rewards light, finished goods as well as advanced ones, so a kilogram of Turkish clothing earns several times what a kilogram of Turkish cars does. Bolat’s higher $2.11 figure, which excludes cement and marble, shows how bulk goods pull the average down.
Turkish Exports to the EU Climb to $118.7 Billion a Year
Turkish exports to EU countries rose from $11.3 billion in 1996 to $118.7 billion on an annualized basis as of September 2026, Daily Sabah reported. In 1923, Türkiye exported to 24 countries across 30 product chapters. From January to September 2026, it shipped about 13,000 different products, in all product chapters, to 223 countries and customs territories.
Türkiye’s share of global goods exports moved from 0.38% in 1980-2000 to 0.55% in 2002 and 1.04% in 2025, according to Daily Sabah. In 1973, the country took a full year to reach $1 billion in exports. Bolat now says daily exports sometimes exceed $2 billion.
Daily Sabah also reported that Türkiye’s nominal GDP ranking rose from 21st in 2002 to 16th in 2025, and its purchasing-power-adjusted ranking from 16th to 11th. For halal-certified goods, Halal Times has examined non-tariff barriers to EU halal trade.
Türkiye Trade Deficit Shows Imports Still Outrun Exports
Türkiye’s imports still exceed its exports, Hürriyet Daily News figures show. From January to September 2026, goods exports rose 5.2% to $211 billion while imports grew 5.4% to $282 billion, according to Hürriyet Daily News, widening the trade deficit 5.8% to $71 billion.
September was stronger. Goods exports of $25.98 billion rose 15.4% from a year earlier, the highest September on record and the second-highest month ever after December 2025’s $26.3 billion, with gains in 19 of 26 sectors, Hürriyet Daily News reported. September imports rose 5.9% to $31.2 billion, so the monthly deficit narrowed 24.8% to $5.2 billion and exports covered 83.2% of imports.
Bolat said the government would work to keep the full-year deficit below $100 billion despite higher energy costs linked to the conflict in the Gulf, Hürriyet Daily News reported. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said, “Even amid the impact of geopolitical tensions, we expect the current account deficit-to-GDP ratio to remain at a manageable level of 2.6 percent.” Related coverage looks at the Hormuz crisis facing Malaysia’s halal industry.
Ankara Has $0.9 Billion Left to Reach Its $410 Billion Target
Türkiye’s annual export total stood at $409 billion as of September against the $410 billion year-end target, Bolat said, according to Anadolu Agency. He put national income at $1.7 trillion and per capita income at $18,300, and pointed to HIT-30, a $30 billion investment program. Investors in Turkish manufacturing tracking Gulf capital can also follow the Kuwait-led financing of Turkey’s wealth fund.
The full-year tally will settle two numbers at once: whether Türkiye’s exports clear the government’s $410 billion target, per Anadolu Agency, and whether the deficit stays under the $100 billion line Bolat has drawn, per Hürriyet Daily News.
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