Turkey’s trade deficit widened sharply to USD 11.2 billion in March 2026, up from USD 7.2 billion in the same month a year earlier. This is the largest gap since April 2025 and reflects an 8.2% year-on-year increase in imports to USD 33.1 billion, driven by higher purchases of capital goods (+7.8%), intermediate goods (+11.2%), and other goods (+249.6%).
China remained Turkey’s leading import partner, accounting for 14.4% of total imports, followed by Russia (10.6%), Germany (7.7%), and Switzerland (4.9%).
By contrast, exports declined 6.4% to USD 21.9 billion, weighed down by lower sales in agriculture, forestry, and fishing (-5.6%), as well as in manufacturing (-6.8%). Germany continued to be the top export destination, with an 8.3% share of total shipments abroad, followed by the UK (6.5%), the US (6.3%), Italy (5.6%), and France (4.5%).
Over the first quarter of the year, the trade deficit widened to USD 28.7 billion from USD 22.5 billion in the same period a year earlier, as exports fell 3.2% while imports grew 4.7%.
