Turkey’s December Trade Deficit Revised Slightly Lower

In December 2025, Turkey's trade deficit was slightly adjusted downward to $9.3 billion from an initial figure of $9.4 billion, expanding from the $8.8 billion recorded in December 2024. This marked the most significant trade disparity since April, even though the growth rate for exports surpassed that of imports. Exports saw a 12.7% year-on-year increase, reaching $26.4 billion. This upswing was driven by notable sales increases in the manufacturing sector (11.9%), agriculture, forestry, and fishing (24.9%), and mining and quarrying (19%). Germany maintained its position as Turkey's leading export destination, accounting for 6.7% of exports, followed by the UK (6%), the US (5.9%), Iraq (5.1%), and France (4.8%). Concurrently, imports grew by 10.7% to $35.7 billion, spurred by higher purchases of intermediate goods (5.6%), capital goods (38.7%), and consumer goods (6.7%). The primary import sources were China (13%), Russia (10.5%), Germany (8.5%), the US (5.7%), and Italy (4.5%).