Turkish exports recorded their strongest April performance on record and their second-best monthly result overall, despite challenges from energy supply disruptions and price shocks, a senior official said on Saturday.
Exports soared by 22.3% year-over-year to $25.4 billion (TL 1.15 trillion), and imports rose 3.1% to $33.91 billion in April, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said, announcing the preliminary trade data in the northern province of Ordu.
The country's foreign trade deficit thus dropped by 29.8% on an annual basis to $8.5 billion in April, the data revealed.
Exports were once again driven by the automotive industry, which, as the historic leader, shipped goods worth some $3.9 billion last month.
From January through April, Türkiye's foreign trade deficit climbed 7.4% to nearly $37.2 billion, data showed.
“After a very difficult 2025, and in 2026 as well, where wars have been intensively taking place in our region, where energy supply and price shocks have caused major fluctuations in the global economy, and where serious disruptions in world trade and a slowdown resembling stagnation have had negative effects, we announced a 22.5% increase in goods exports for April," Bolat said.
"We announced $25.4 billion, the highest April export figure in history and the second highest export figure in the 102.5 years, or 1230 months, of our republic," he added.
Recalling previous records, including the one of $26.4 billion last August, the minister pointed out that losses seen in the first quarter have been compensated.
"Thus, after a very volatile period in the first three months, we compensated for the losses of the first and third months of the year in the fourth month and increased our exports by 3.3% in the first four months," he noted.
"In March, our foreign trade deficit was $11.2 billion, and we managed to reduce it to $8.5 billion on a monthly basis," he further noted.
Moreover, he also suggested that the export-to-import ratio also increased "by a full 11 percentage points to 75%."
"Thus, the summary of the first four months shows a 3% increase in exports to $88.5 billion, a 4.3% increase in imports to $126 billion in the first four months, and our deficit in the first four months was $37.2 billion. The coverage ratio was 70.5%," he informed.
Commenting on the data, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said that the rise in imports was "limited" while also pointing to the potential for trade fluctuations in the second quarter due to geopolitical risks.
"Exports rose by 22.3% year-on-year in April, also aided by calendar effects, while import growth was limited to 3.1%," Şimşek wrote in a post on X.
"Annualized exports reached the highest level in our history at $275.8 billion. In the second quarter, where geopolitical tensions continue, there will be periodic fluctuations in the foreign trade outlook due to calendar effects," he further said.
"In this period when global conditions are challenging, we continue to support the sectors that bring foreign exchange to our country and the transformation in production, and to take structural steps that increase our competitiveness," he added.
"We continue to produce and export with all our might. Despite all the difficulties, I believe we will finish 2026 above the target of $282 billion," said Mustafa Gültepe, the head of the Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TIM), referring to the official targets for goods' exports.
"Looking at our top five sectors, the automotive sector maintained its lead with $3.9 billion. Chemicals followed with $3.1 billion, electrical and electronics with $1.8 billion, ready-made clothing with $1.451 billion, and the steel sector with $1.438 billion, sharing the top 5 spots," he said.
He also said that according to TIM data, 61 provinces have boosted their exports last month.
"When we look at the provinces with the highest export figures, we see that they are ranked as follows: Istanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa, Ankara, and Izmir," Gültepe suggested.
