Türkiye reaches historic milestone in foreign trade: Erdoğan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye reached a historic milestone in foreign trade, recording a total of $395.9 billion in goods and services exports in 2025.

Speaking at the Turkish Exporters Assembly in Istanbul, Erdoğan congratulated the country's top exporting companies and emphasized the hard work required to achieve such success.

He noted that the country achieved a 3.6% economic growth in 2025 despite global tensions, followed by a 2.5% expansion in the first quarter of 2026.

The country carried its uninterrupted growth performance to the last 23 quarters, Erdoğan added.

The president highlighted that the volume of goods exports soared to $273.3 billion in 2025 from just $36 billion in 2002.

Services exports also experienced massive growth over the same period, jumping from $14 billion to $122.6 billion last year.

Türkiye increased its share in global goods exports to 1.04% from 0.55%, and its share in global services exports to 1.28% from 0.89%.

Erdoğan pointed out significant advancements in technology exports, with mid-high and high-tech product sales rising from $10 billion in 2002 to $112 billion in 2025.

Annualized mid-high and high-tech manufacturing exports reached $114.4 billion, he added.

Touching upon the defense and aviation sectors, he stated that exports rose by 29.5% in the first five months of the year to hit $3.86 billion.

The country elevated its defense industry from generating $248 million annually to hitting $992 million in monthly exports, Erdoğan remarked.

"We are now doing in one week the export we used to do in one year," he emphasized.

Stressing the nation's changing global position, Erdoğan said Türkiye is no longer an introverted country but a respected state capable of establishing relations on equal footing.

The government and private sector will continue working hand in hand to carry the country's export targets even higher in this new era, he concluded.