Türkiye to budget $1.4B to strengthen trade

By Serhat Tutak and Emir Yildirim

ANKARA (AA) — Türkiye is planning to allocate $1.3 billion for trade regulation, development, and facilitation to boost exports, according to the 2026 budget bill.

The 2026 Central Administration Budget Bill aims to diversify export products, countries, and markets—all sorts of support programs are planned within this proposal, including research and development, technology, e-commerce, entry into other markets, participation in domestic and global events, and similar activities.

The “Turquality Program” aims to boost Turkish brands’ position on a global scale, and the number of trade and purchasing delegations will increase to achieve this goal.

The implementation of the trade regulation, development, and facilitation program—a part of the budget bill—will support 34,000 companies exporting services by the end of the year and 36,000 next year.

The number of companies exporting services and supported by Turquality and other brand programs was 104, and this figure is expected to increase to 125 by the end of the year and 134 in 2026, while the number of companies exporting goods under the same programs is expected to surge to 380 by the end of 2025 and 390 in 2026.

The program also aims to increase the share of medium- and high-tech exports in total manufacturing exports, which is expected to rise to 42.5% by the end of this year and to 44.5% in 2026.

The green compliance support provided by the program aims to boost companies’ compliance with environmental sustainability and low-carbon production, while the number of firms covered by this scheme is expected to reach 160 by the end of this year and 320 next year.

The program estimates that Türkiye’s overseas contracting and technical consultancy services business will take a 4.2% share in the global market by the end of this year and 4% in 2026, while the volume of overseas contracting services is expected to reach $27 and $28 billion by the end of 2025 and in 2026, respectively.

The annual project value of overseas technical consulting services is targeted to reach $200 million by the end of the year and $210 million by 2026.

The Turquality program also aims to maintain effective foreign trade policies, such as protective measures in imports and investigations into dumping and subsidies.

Electronic exports, which account for a significant portion of global trade, are expected to increase to 2% of total exports by the end of 2025 and 5.5% the following year.

Other objectives include the promotion of economic activities, implementing necessary regulations, and continuing efforts to develop cooperatives.

The e-commerce transaction volume is expected to total $138.5 billion by the end of the year and $202.5 billion in 2026, while the share of e-commerce in total trade is expected to reach 21% this year and 22% next year.

The number of women’s cooperatives is planned to reach 1,300 this year and 1,350 in 2026, while some 63 cooperatives will benefit from the support program OOP-DES this year, and some 60 cooperatives will benefit from said scheme in 2026.

The 2026 budget bill has therefore allocated a total of 58.4 trillion Turkish lira (around $1.4 trillion) to achieve these goals.