THE LATEST SITUATION IN OUR TRADE WITH THE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES

In our column published on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, titled “Foreign Trade Strategy with Neighboring Countries,” we emphasized the importance of trade with our neighboring countries. Within this scope, we evaluated the progress made over 24 years under the “Strategy to Improve Trade with Neighboring and Surrounding Countries,” which Türkiye implemented in 2000 to boost its foreign trade.

In that analysis, we noted that the most striking aspect was the increase in exports surpassing the growth in imports. While in 2000 the share of neighboring land-border countries in our total imports and exports was around 4%, by 2025, this share dropped to 2.18% in imports and rose to 10.78% in exports. It was foreseen that exports would further increase due to positive normalization in Iraq and the end of the war in Syria. Ultimately, it was concluded that Türkiye’s trade with its land-border neighbors has shown a favorable trend over the last quarter-century, and this trend is expected to continue.

Trade Statistics with Neighboring Countries

Supporting our earlier forecast, news reports from last week confirmed that Türkiye achieved high performance in exports to neighboring countries. The ongoing normalization process in our southeastern and eastern neighbors seems likely to further enhance our foreign trade with them.

Within this context, we decided to analyze Türkiye’s trade with its neighboring countries using data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) by comparing the same period of last year with this year. Since TUIK has not yet released data for June 2025, we had to base our analysis on the first five months instead of six.

TUIK uses two systems for compiling foreign trade statistics: the general trade system and the special trade system.

• The general trade system includes not only directly imported and exported goods but also goods entering and leaving free zones and customs warehouses, thus aligning the statistical and economic areas.
• The special trade system, on the other hand, excludes goods entering and leaving free zones and warehouses and only reflects goods brought into free circulation or exported.

Since transit trade and bonded warehouses are frequently used in trade with neighboring countries, our analysis relies on general trade system statistics.

There are no official trade data for the Nakhchivan region, so it is excluded from trade calculations. Likewise, as there are no direct official road trade relations between Türkiye and Armenia, no trade statistics are available. Thus, these two countries are not included in our review.

2024–2025 Overview

In the first five months of 2025, Türkiye exported goods worth $14.261 billion to its neighboring countries: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, and Greece. During the same period in 2024, exports amounted to $13.650 billion. Comparing both periods, Türkiye’s exports to neighboring countries increased by 4.5%. The total foreign trade volume for both years during the first five months is as follows:

On a monthly basis, export and import figures with neighboring countries during the first five months reveal that exports significantly surpass imports, resulting in a consistent trade surplus. It is also evident that 2025 has seen a partial increase over 2024.

Syria

Although Syria holds a small share in Türkiye’s overall foreign trade, it stands out as one of the most important countries in terms of trade surplus and export growth. A significant increase in trade volume is expected as normalization progresses.