Turkey’s Exports in 2023 Hits Record High of $255.8 Billion

In 2023, Turkey achieved a historic milestone in exports, reaching a record high of $255.8 billion, as announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

This marked a 0.6% increase from the previous year and surpassed the targeted $255 billion set in the medium-term program.

The exports-to-imports coverage ratio also improved to 70.7%, showing a gain of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Erdogan highlighted a 3.2% reduction in the foreign trade deficit for 2023, with the trade gap shrinking in the last seven months of the year, except for July.

Turkey’s imports in 2023 decreased by 0.5% to $361.8 billion, while annual service exports reached a historic high of $99.3 billion as of October.

Looking ahead to 2024, Erdogan expressed the country’s ambition to boost goods and services exports to over $375 billion, emphasizing Turkey’s capability to achieve this goal.

The government has doubled the budget for export support in 2024, with plans to ensure recognition of Turkish products globally and expand the presence of Turkish exporters.

In December 2023, Turkey’s overseas shipments slightly increased by 0.44% year-on-year to $23 billion, while imports for the same period decreased by 10.7% to $29.1 billion.

Trade Minister Omer Bolat highlighted Turkey’s rising share in global merchandise exports, reaching 1.06% in the first nine months of 2023, up from 1.02% in 2022.

Projections for 2024 include goods exports reaching $267 billion and services exports exceeding $110 billion, with a long-term target of $302 billion in goods exports by 2026.