Türkiye’s September exports rise 15.4% to $26 billion
Türkiye’s goods exports rose 15.4% from a year earlier to $26 billion in September, while imports increased 5.9% to $31.2 billion. Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced the figures in Istanbul. Exports covered 83.2% of imports during the month, and the ministry reported a smaller trade deficit in the third quarter than in either of the preceding quarters.
Economics & Markets··Evening
September exports outpace import growth
Türkiye’s goods exports rose 15.4% from a year earlier to $26 billion in September, while imports increased 5.9% to $31.2 billion. Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced the figures on October 3 in Istanbul alongside Turkish Exporters Assembly president Mustafa Gültepe. In the annual comparison, exports grew faster than imports.[1], [2]
Bolat described the result as the highest export value recorded for a September and the second-highest monthly figure in the republic’s history. December 2025, at $26.3 billion, remains the comparison for the monthly high. Exports covered 83.2% of September imports. The ministry put the annual increases in dollar terms at $3.5 billion for exports and $1.7 billion for imports.[1]
The third-quarter deficit narrows
The ministry reported trade deficits of $28.5 billion in the first quarter, $24.5 billion in the second and $17.5 billion in the third. The corresponding export-to-import coverage ratios were 69%, 74.5% and 80.8%. Those quarterly figures place the September release in a broader sequence: the reported deficit decreased between successive quarters as the share of imports covered by exports increased.[1]
For January–September, goods exports rose 5.2% to $211 billion and imports reached $282 billion. The nine-month deficit was approximately $71 billion, with exports covering 74.8% of imports. Bolat also said exports increased in 19 of 26 sectors during September and in 18 sectors over the nine months. These counts describe the breadth of reported export growth without assigning an equal contribution to each sector.[1]
Rolling totals cover a separate period
Rolling twelve-month goods exports reached $283.7 billion and imports $379.7 billion, leaving a $96 billion deficit over that interval. The rolling measure includes months outside the current calendar year, unlike the January–September total. It therefore offers a different view of trade activity, rather than another estimate of the same nine-month result. The two totals need their period labels to be read together accurately.[1]
The announcement estimated rolling twelve-month services exports at $125.4 billion, taking combined goods and services exports to $409.1 billion. Services enter that combined total but not the monthly goods-import coverage calculation. Bolat also expressed an expectation of current-account surpluses for August and September. That expectation remains attributed to the minister; the release’s confirmed trade figures and his current-account forecast have different evidential status.[1]
