Turkey's May Trade Declines as Exports Fall 9.5% and Imports Drop 10.8%

Turkey’s provisional foreign‑trade statistics for May 2026 show a year‑on‑year decline in both exports and imports. Export value fell 9.5% to $22.461 billion, while imports dropped 10.8% to $28.071 billion, narrowing the trade deficit by 15.6% to $5.61 billion and raising the export‑to‑import ratio to 80%. Excluding energy products and non‑monetary gold, exports were $20.5 billion and imports $21.025 billion, leaving a $525 million deficit. Manufacturing accounted for 94.5% of exports, with Germany the top destination at $1.714 billion, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. Russia remained the leading source of imports at $3.758 billion, with China, Germany, the United States and Italy also significant.

In the Thrace (Trakya) region, the three provinces reported modest trade figures. Tekirdağ exported $276.663 million and imported $200.407 million, ranking 15th in national exports and 12th in imports; its main export market was Germany, followed by the United States and Serbia, while imports were led by China. Kırklareli recorded $22.066 million in exports and $18.226 million in imports, with Sierra Leone as its top export partner and Russia as the main source of imports. Edirne’s exports amounted to $9.943 million and imports $32.612 million, with Bulgaria featuring as both its largest export and import partner.