Türkiye's September exports reached 22 billion dollars
Among the sectors with the highest exports, the automotive industry maintained its leading position with 3.4 billion dollars. Following closely were chemicals with 2.2 billion dollars and apparel and ready-made clothing with 1.6 billion dollars.
TİM Chairman Mustafa Gültepe: “Our September exports decreased by 1.8% compared to last year. Weak demand in the EU and recession concerns in our largest market, Germany, are negatively impacting our exports. However, the fundamental issue stems from the loss of our competitiveness.”
Türkiye's September exports amounted to 22 billion dollars, with the January-September nine-month export total reaching 192.8 billion dollars, and the 12-month export volume standing at 261.6 billion dollars.
The September foreign trade data was announced in Ankara by Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and Türkiye Exporters' Assembly (TİM) Chairman Mustafa Gültepe. Chairman Gültepe noted that while exports had closed July and August on a positive note, the trajectory turned downward again in September. He further commented:
“According to the General Trade System (GTS) records, our September exports registered a 1.8% decline compared to last year, amounting to 22 billion dollars. Our nine-month exports from January to September reached 192.8 billion dollars, and our 12-month exports totaled 261.6 billion dollars. We are up by 3.2% in nine-month exports and by 3.4% in 12-month exports. We also estimate that our service exports in September will be around 12.6 billion dollars.”
15 SECTORS INCREASED EXPORTS WHILE 11 SECTORS EXPERIENCED DECLINES
Looking at the sectors, automotive leads the pack again with 3.4 billion dollars, marking its highest-ever monthly export. It is followed by chemicals at 2.2 billion dollars, apparel at 1.6 billion dollars, electrical-electronics at 1.48 billion dollars, and steel at 1.47 billion dollars. Last month, 15 of our sectors increased their exports, while 11 sectors saw declines. The dried fruits sector saw the highest proportional export increase at 47%. Defense and aerospace grew by 32%, ship and yacht services by 31%, hazelnuts by 30%, and automotive by 21%.
According to TİM's data, based on the legal headquarters of companies, 45 provinces increased their exports last month. Our top five exporting provinces were Istanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa, Ankara, and Izmir. Eskişehir and Niğde recorded their highest monthly exports ever. Additionally, 1,189 companies exported for the first time last month. The per-kilogram export value rose by 6%, reaching 1.53 dollars, while exchange rate parity contributed 378 million dollars to our exports.”
58.1% OF SEPTEMBER EXPORTS WERE DIRECTED TO EUROPE
Mustafa Gültepe reported that the top export destinations were Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Iraq, and Italy. He highlighted that exports increased by over 50% to 42 countries and by more than 10% to 87 countries. “In total, we increased our exports to 113 countries. Among the country groups, the European Union (EU) once again led the way with 9.1 billion dollars in exports.
Europe's share of our total exports stood at 58.2%. We observed extreme increases in certain sectors' exports to specific countries. For instance, steel exports to Spain surged by 156%, automotive exports to Slovenia grew by 108%, and electrical-electronics exports to the U.S. increased by 78%”, Gültepe said.
With the release of September's data, the nine-month export picture has become clear. While we are ahead compared to last year, we are still behind the targets we had hoped to achieve. Gültepe emphasized that while the global environment cannot be ignored in the slowing of exports, he also stated:
“There is war to both our south and north. The weak demand in the European Union, particularly the recession fears in Germany, our largest market, is reflecting negatively on our exports. However, the core issue is that we are losing our competitiveness.”
TÜRKİYE INNOVATION WEEK TO BE HELD FROM OCTOBER 10-12
Mustafa Gültepe also underscored the need to effectively leverage investments in high technology, dual transformation, and innovation to boost value-added production and exports. He reminded attendees that for 10 years, Türkiye Innovation Week has been organized with this consciousness: “Preparations are in full swing for our 11th Innovation Week, which will be held from October 10-12. I invite you all to join us for this event, which will be honored by the presence of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan”, he said.