Turkey’s Export Volume by Industry in 2021-2022

Turkey’s export volume reached 254.2 billion dollars, a record increase in 2022. The Turkish manufacturing sector contributed $240.4 billion of this $254.2 billion. In this article, I focused on Turkish export commodities that have $240.4 billion in trade volume. If you are interested in the top Turkish manufacturers, I kindly advise you to read “The Comprehensive Guide to Turkey Sourcing: Top Turkish Manufacturers and Industries.”

Export Volume of the Turkish Manufacturing Sectors

To make it simpler to understand, I removed the manufacturing sector from the table that the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey prepared showing the total value of Turkey’s exports (source 1). I only used data for 2021 and 2022. The table below shows the export volume of Turkish manufacturing sectors and is the easiest way to understand Turkey’s export volume by sector. The yellow color indicates 2021, and the green color indicates 2022.

Turkey’s Export Volume by Industry Increased by 13%

Manufacturing sectors in Turkey created an export value of 212.8 billion dollars in 2021. This value increased by 13%, and the Turkish manufacturing sector created 240.4 billion dollars of exports.

Turkey’s Top 5 Export Commodity Categories in 2022

1. Motor vehicles and trailers: $28,048 billion
2. Manufacture of basic metals: $26,690 billion
3. Manufacture of food products: $21,456 billion
4. Wearing apparel: $19,815 billion dollars
5. Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products: $18,416 billion

The value of Turkey’s exports in these commodity categories is $114,426 billion. Given Turkey’s overall export volume of 254.2 billion dollars, these top five sectors account for 45% of total exports. The categories listed above are broad. The commodities in the next section were most commonly exported.

Turkey’s Top 5 Export Commodity Categories in 2021

1. Manufacture of basic metals: $28,901 billion
2. Motor vehicles and trailers: $26,770 billion
3. Wearing apparel: $18,598 billion
4. Manufacture of food products: $17,297 billion
5. Textiles: $14,802 billion

Leading 10 Export Commodities of Turkey in 2022, by export volume

I listed the top 10 export commodities in Turkey by export volume below. Please check the attachment for the whole list of export categories to see the export volume of the top 99 commodities for 2013–2023. I colored the important lines for 2022. File: Exports by chapters

1. Motor vehicles, tractors, bicycles, motorcycles, and other land vehicles, and their parts and accessories: $26.8 billion
2. Boilers, machines, mechanical devices and tools, nuclear reactors, their parts and accessories: $22.6 billion
3. Mineral fuels, mineral oils and their distillation products, bituminous substances, mineral waxes: $16.4 billion
4. Iron and steel: $14.6 billion
5. Electrical machines and devices, sound recording devices, television image-sound recording devices, and parts and accessories: $13.7 billion
6. Plastic and articles thereof: $11.5 billion
7. Knitted and crocheted goods and articles thereof: $11 billion
8. Articles of iron and steel: $10.5 billion
9. Precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, pearls, imitation jewelry, and coins: $10.2 billion
10. Non-knitted and crocheted goods and articles thereof: $8.45 billion

Basic Changes in 2021 and 2022

In terms of export volume, the Turkish textile sector experienced a significant fall compared to previous years. This should not be interpreted as a negative indicator because Turkey boosted its export volume in the clothing and leather manufacturing sectors. Turkey requires raw materials for its strong clothing sector, and I regard this reduction as logical given China and India’s lower raw material pricing.

Turkey’s export volume in motor vehicles, trailers, and basic metals appears to be stable in the future as well. Turkey has abundant natural resources. However, such an increase in motor vehicle export volume is noteworthy.

Turkey’s Exports of Basic Metals

The export volume of Turkish iron and steel manufacturing was $14.6 billion in 2022. In addition to iron and steel, Turkey manufactures high amounts of copper, nickel, aluminum, lead, zinc, tin, and other base metals employed in metallurgy.

The top basic metal export volume happened in the following commodity groups:

• Iron and steel: $14.6 billion in 2022
• Articles of iron and steel: $10.5 billion in 2022
• Copper and articles thereof: $2.6 billion in 2022
• Aluminum and articles thereof: $6.7 billion in 2022

In relation to basic metal production, Turkey exported boilers, machines, mechanical appliances, and parts thereof with a tremendous export value of $22.6 billion.

Conclusion

I tried to give a brief summary of Turkey’s export volume in 2021 and 2022 from very reliable resources. You can check these resources for further statistics. It looks like Turkey is not an agricultural country any more. I will evaluate Turkish agricultural production later.

My Information Sources

To elicit and evaluate the statistics of Turkey’s export volume by various industries correctly, I used two official websites of Türkiye (formerly Turkey). These are: 

Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, Strategy and Budget Directorate, Basic Economic Indicators, Section 5, 16^th Report.

Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), Foreign Trade (source 2)

Please note that several of Turkey’s export volume statistics on the internet are wrong. To make sure I presented the data correctly, I checked all the figures in the article several times and prepared the graphs myself.

If you need to discover how private labeling and sourcing works in Turkey, I strongly recommend that you read “Comprehensive Guide to Private Label Services in Turkey,”

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