ISTANBUL, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's exports rose 4.5 percent year on year to 273.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, marking the highest export figure in the country's history, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
Speaking at an event in Istanbul, Erdogan said the country's combined exports of goods and services were estimated to reach 396.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2025.
The northwestern provinces of Istanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa and Tekirdag, along with the western port province of Izmir, were the country's top five exporting provinces in 2025, he added.
Erdogan highlighted Türkiye's strong automotive sector, noting that with annual production of around 1.5 million vehicles and exports exceeding 41 billion U.S. dollars, the country ranks as the fourth-largest automotive production base in Europe and the 12th largest worldwide.
He also noted the rise in defense exports, which increased nearly 40-fold, from 248 million dollars in 2002 to 9.87 billion dollars in 2025.
According to the Turkish Trade Ministry's December 2025 data, the manufacturing sector dominated monthly exports at 93.2 percent or 24.6 billion dollars, followed by agriculture at 4.5 percent or 1.2 billion, and mining at 1.7 percent or 436 million.
By product category, exports were highest in raw materials, followed by consumer goods and capital goods, according to the ministry. ■
