ADDS FINANCE MINISTER'S COMMENTS
By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish exports amounted to $273.36 billion in 2025, up 4.4% on a yearly basis, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Friday.
The country's imports also increased 6.2% to $365.37 billion last year, resulting in a trade deficit of $92 billion, up 11.9%.
The ratios of the manufacturing industries products sector, agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, and the mining and quarrying sector in total exports were 94.3%, 3.5%, and 1.6% in 2025, respectively.
High-tech's share in the manufacturing side was at 3.8%, and medium-high tech's share was at 39.6%.
The top destination country for Turkish exports was Germany with $22.16 billion, followed by the UK with $16.77 billion and the US with $16.33 billion.
China was the top source of imports to Türkiye with $49.57 billion, followed by Russia with $42.37 billion and Germany with $30.11 billion.
In December alone, the country's exports totaled $26.37 billion, climbing 12.7% year-on-year, and imports were at $35.67 billion, up 10.7%.
The foreign trade deficit in December was $9.3 billion, up 5.6% compared to the same month of 2024.
Foreign trade deficit, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, was $2.7 billion in December 2025.
Commenting on the data, the Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek stated that the performance they achieved in exports in 2025 continued to support gains towards the country's sustainable current account balance target.
Simsek said on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal that while exports climbed last year, imports also increased, partly due to rising gold prices.
"Despite this, the foreign trade deficit remained below the level projected in the Medium-Term Program (MTP)," he noted.
"To sustain the structural improvement recorded in the current account balance, we will continue to support high value-added production through active industrial policies and prioritize investments that increase domestic and renewable energy capacity," Simsek added.