Türkiye’s export growth continues in March as Q1 total tops $65B: TurkStat

Türkiye’s exports increased by 3.4% year-over-year in March to $23.41 billion, while first-quarter figures rose by 2.5% to a total of $65.32 billion, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported on Wednesday.

In March, Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit narrowed by 1.5% year-over-year to $7.2 billion, while the export-to-import coverage ratio rose from 75.6% in March 2024 to 76.5% in March 2025.

However, in the January to March period, the trade deficit widened by 11%, increasing from $20.26 billion to $22.49 billion. Over the same period, the export-to-import coverage ratio fell from 75.9% in 2024 to 74.4% in 2025.

Türkiye’s foreign trade volume increased by 2.3% in March, reaching $44.67 billion.

Germany ranks first in exports, China leads in imports

Excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, exports rose by 3.3% year-over-year to $21.52 billion in March, while imports in the same category increased by 1.4% to $23.15 billion. The trade deficit, excluding energy and gold, stood at $1.64 billion. The export-to-import coverage ratio for this category was recorded at 92.9%.

In terms of export sectors, manufacturing accounted for 94% of exports in March, followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing at 3.7%, and mining and quarrying at 1.7%. In the January–March period, manufacturing made up 93.7% of exports, agriculture 4.2%, and mining 1.5%.

Germany was Türkiye’s top export destination in March with $1.86 billion in exports, followed by the U.K. ($1.51 billion), the U.S. ($1.42 billion), Italy ($1.24 billion), and France ($974 million). These five countries accounted for 29.9% of total exports in March.

In the January–March period, Germany again led with $5.33 billion in exports, followed by the U.K. ($4.03 billion), the U.S. ($3.98 billion), Italy ($3.31 billion), and Iraq ($2.92 billion), making up 30% of total exports.

On the import side, China was Türkiye’s largest source in March with $4.01 billion, followed by Russia ($3.28 billion), Germany ($2.49 billion), France ($1.53 billion), and Italy ($1.50 billion). These five countries represented 41.8% of Türkiye’s imports that month.

In the January–March period, China again led imports with $11.63 billion, followed by Russia ($11.54 billion), Germany ($6.49 billion), the U.S. ($3.97 billion), and Italy ($3.68 billion), accounting for 42.5% of all imports.