Cargo handled at Türkiye’s ports reached an all-time high last month, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Tuesday.

Ports handled 43.88 million tons of cargo in February, marking the highest level ever recorded for the month, Uraloğlu said in a written statement citing data compiled by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs.

The January-February period saw total cargo handled at Turkish ports reach 88.34 million tons, he added.

The total volume of cargo the Turkish ports handled last year reached a new record of more than 553 million tons, a 4% year-over-year increase.

The statement on Tuesday said the container throughput amounted to 1.16 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), the second-highest February figure on record after 2024, representing a 13.9% increase compared with the same month last year.

In the first two months of the year, container handling rose 3% year-over-year to 2.24 million TEU.

Foreign trade cargo rises

Cargo shipped from Turkish ports to foreign destinations totaled 10.54 million tons in February, while cargo arriving from abroad increased 8.5% year-over-year to 22.12 million tons.

Total international maritime cargo traffic rose 6% compared with the same month last year to 32.66 million tons.

Among regional port authorities, facilities operating under the Aliağa Regional Port Authority handled the highest cargo volume in February at 7.35 million tons.

Ports in Kocaeli followed with 6.57 million tons, while those in Iskenderun handled 5.35 million tons.

Transit cargo carried by sea reached 5.56 million tons, while cabotage transport totaled 5.66 million tons.

Cement leads exports, crude oil tops imports

Portland cement was the most exported cargo type in February at 980,160 tons, followed by aluminum ore and concentrates and feldspar.

On the import side, crude oil ranked first among cargo types arriving at Turkish ports, totaling 2.58 million tons. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and non-agglomerated hard coal followed.

By destination, the largest share of seaborne exports from Türkiye went to Italy, followed by the United States and Egypt.

Meanwhile, the largest volume of cargo arriving at Turkish ports came from Russia, according to Uraloğlu.