We Must Look Beyond the Numbers
In 2025, a year marked by competitiveness challenges across nearly all our sectors, we have completed the first ten months. We concluded October with a net export value of $24 billion, reflecting a 2.2 percent increase compared to the same month last year. Our exports for the January–October period reached $224.6 billion, while exports over the past twelve months totaled $270.2 billion. Ten-month exports rose by 3.9 percent, and the annualized figure by 3.1 percent. For the first time, our annual goods exports have surpassed $270 billion.
Although surpassing this psychological threshold is significant, this year, as in the previous two, progress has been limited. Double-digit growth was achieved in only one of the nine months, and we ended two months in decline. Moreover, for the past two years, exports have been losing their appeal. In the ten months of this year, the number of firms exporting for the first time fell by approximately 30 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
Exports in our apparel, as well as olive and olive oil sectors, recorded declines throughout all ten months, leather for nine, processed fruit and vegetable products for seven, and fresh fruit and nuts for six. Compared to last year, we are up by 2 million tons in volume and $8.4 billion in value. Of this increase, $3.3 billion resulted from exchange rate effects. Excluding parity, automotive contributed $2.2 billion, defense industry $1.4 billion, chemicals $1.3 billion, and jewelry $530 million to exports this year. In fact, approximately ten companies in these four sectors were responsible for the increase. Had we been able to broaden the base of export growth, we could have achieved the double-digit expansion we targeted.
In summary, issues surrounding competitiveness continue to impede our momentum. The erosion of our competitive strength due to high costs is particularly damaging in labor-intensive sectors. I must also emphasize that in the last three quarters, net exports have made a negative contribution to growth.
PMI data and global order indicators do not suggest a strong short-term recovery in demand. Therefore, to maintain the contribution of exports to growth, there is a pressing need for new support measures, particularly in financing, the investment climate, green transformation, and digital infrastructure. In this context, we attach great importance to the extension of the foreign exchange conversion support. However, it is imperative to introduce a broader set of policies and activate diverse supports and incentives that will safeguard our competitiveness.
Despite all difficulties, we remain committed to doing our utmost. October was marked by an intense agenda. We successfully concluded the 12th Türkiye Innovation Week with record participation. At our Delegates Workshop, we both assessed the past three and a half years and held consultations regarding the upcoming period.
Last month, together with our exporters' unions, we organized trade delegations to Iraq, Canada, the USA, Panama, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, and Jordan. This month, we will continue our delegation programs with China, Italy, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Ghana. Our delegations are being conducted with strong participation, and our companies are forging significant connections and laying the foundations for new collaborations. I encourage our companies to follow the delegation schedule on the Türkiye Exporters Assembly and our unions' websites and to be sure to take part in suitable programs.