Türkiye’s foreign-trade deficit narrowed by 25.8% from a year earlier to $5.163 billion in September, according to provisional figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute on October 28. Exports increased by 15.3% to $25.967 billion, while imports rose by 5.6% to $31.130 billion.
Because exports grew faster than imports during the month, the export-to-import coverage ratio improved to 83.4%, up from 76.4% in September 2025. The cumulative picture, however, moved in the opposite direction: the trade deficit for January through September widened by 5.7% year on year to $70.967 billion.
What the September figures show
Under the general trade system, Türkiye exported $25.967 billion of goods and imported $31.130 billion in September. The monthly deficit therefore fell from $6.957 billion a year earlier to $5.163 billion. The series, compiled jointly by TÜİK and the Ministry of Trade, is provisional and may be revised as customs records are updated.
Seasonally and calendar-adjusted figures showed that both sides of trade increased from the previous month. Exports rose by 2.1% month on month and imports by 2.8%. On a calendar-adjusted annual basis, exports were 15.6% higher and imports were up 5.6%.
The Ministry of Trade’s preliminary release on October 3 had put September exports at $25.976 billion and imports at $31.208 billion. The later TÜİK release was $9 million lower for exports and $78 million lower for imports. Differences of this kind can arise between preliminary and more detailed datasets because of coverage and updating procedures.
Nine-month deficit remains wider
Exports in the first nine months of 2026 increased by 5.2% from the same period a year earlier to $210.952 billion. Imports rose by 5.3% to $281.919 billion. As a result, the cumulative deficit increased from $67.163 billion to $70.967 billion, while the export-to-import coverage ratio edged down from 74.9% to 74.8%.
The contrast matters because an improvement in a single month does not by itself reverse the year-to-date balance. September produced a smaller gap than the same month of 2025, but the deficit accumulated over nine months was still larger. The data therefore need to be read through both the monthly momentum and the cumulative trend.
Balance excluding energy and gold
When energy products and non-monetary gold were excluded, exports rose by 10.5% to $23.385 billion and imports increased by 6.7% to $23.926 billion. The resulting deficit was $541 million, and the coverage ratio reached 97.7%.
Manufactured goods accounted for 93.4% of total exports in September. On the import side, intermediate goods represented 69.9% of the total, capital goods 15.4%, and consumer goods 14.6%. That composition shows that a large portion of Türkiye’s imports consisted of inputs used in production rather than finished consumer products.
Largest trading partners
Germany was Türkiye’s largest export market in September, receiving goods worth $2.046 billion. The United States followed with $1.913 billion and the United Kingdom with $1.442 billion. China was the largest source of imports at $5.264 billion, followed by Germany and Russia.
The TÜİK figures are provisional statistics based on recorded trade transactions, not forecasts. In the months ahead, the pace of exports and imports, energy and gold flows, currency movements, and external demand will all be relevant to the direction of Türkiye’s trade balance.
