More Effective Support is Essential for Stronger Exports
Our exports delivered a strong performance in September. Last month, we recorded exports worth $25.976 billion, marking a double-digit increase of 15.4 percent. With nearly $26 billion in exports, we thus achieved both our highest-ever September export figure and the second-highest monthly export value on record. Our exports for the first nine months approached the $211 billion threshold, while on a 12-month rolling basis, we surpassed our year-end target with $283.7 billion. We are up 5.2 percent both in nine-month exports and on a 12-month rolling basis.
We also need to underpin the increase in export value with growth in export volume. In September, despite a 15.4 percent increase in value, we recorded a 0.6 percent decline in volume. Likewise, in the January-September period, while our exports increased by 5.2 percent in value terms, they declined by 2 percent in volume terms. To the extent that we can increase volume alongside value, we can elevate our production volume and capacity utilisation rates to stronger levels.
Despite this performance, challenges on the competitiveness front persist. The new implementation principles concerning foreign exchange conversion support, which entered into force on 1 October, fell short of our expectations. The system needs to be simpler, more accessible and more directly responsive to the needs of exporters. Particularly at a time when the gap between inflation and exchange rates has yet to narrow and financing costs continue to exert pressure on our exporters, it is of paramount importance that support mechanisms be structured in a manner that safeguards our competitiveness.
We also need fresh momentum in services exports. According to seven-month data, our services exports stood at $65.9 billion. At a time when the World Trade Organization (WTO) forecasts 4.8 percent growth in the global services market for 2026, we need to capture a greater share of this growth to achieve our $128 billion target.
Despite all the challenges we face in terms of competitiveness, our export family delivered a significant achievement in September. I would like to thank all our exporters whose efforts contributed to this success.
We have now entered the final quarter of the year. We will make the most efficient use of the remaining period to achieve our 2026 goods export target of $282 billion. As the Türkiye Exporters' Assembly and exporters' associations, we organised 19 trade delegations, 6 buying missions, participated in 40 trade fairs and carried out 1 Ur-Ge activity in September. In October, we will be in the field with 22 trade delegations.
In addition, from 15 to 17 October, we will organise Türkiye Innovation Week at the Haliç Congress Center, the foremost innovation event in our country and the surrounding region. I invite our export family and young people to this important gathering, where every facet of innovation will be discussed with the participation of distinguished guests.