Exporting from Türkiye: How to Start and Grow

3 days ago

3 min read

Türkiye's exports reached a record USD 273.4 billion in 2025, up 4.5% on 2024, and December 2025 was the strongest month on record at USD 26.4 billion.¹ The momentum continued into 2026, with USD 185.0 billion exported in the first eight months, 4.0% more than a year earlier.² According to the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), about 13,000 companies exported for the first time in 2025.³ If your company is thinking about its first export order, or about growing beyond one or two markets, here is the toolkit Türkiye offers.

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1. Join your exporter association

Membership of the relevant exporter association (İhracatçı Birliği) is mandatory for exporters under Law No. 5910. The associations approve export documents, organise fairs and trade missions and promote their sectors abroad.⁴ Under the TİM umbrella there are 61 associations covering 27 sectors and more than 150,000 exporters.⁵ Your association is also the first place to ask about sector specific programmes and buyer delegations.

2. Use the state export supports

The main legal basis is Decision No. 5973 on Export Supports, amended several times since 2022, most recently in March 2026.⁶ It covers, among others:

Market entry documents, market research and overseas trademark registration
Participation in overseas and domestic trade fairs
Rent for overseas units such as offices, showrooms and warehouses
Promotion and advertising abroad
Green Deal compliance costs
Brand support and the TURQUALITY® programme
UR GE cluster projects and export consortia

Support caps are updated every year, so check the current limits on the Ministry of Trade support pages before you plan a budget.⁷ Companies selling online abroad have a separate set of e export supports under Decision No. 5986.⁸

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3. Finance and protect your receivables

Türk Eximbank offers pre shipment and export preparation credit, rediscount credit, e export credit and other working capital and investment loans.⁹ Its short term receivables insurance covers commercial and political risk on sales with terms of up to 360 days, with indemnity of 90%.¹⁰ For a new exporter selling on open account, insuring the buyer can be the difference between a confident first order and a costly one. KOSGEB also runs programmes for small and medium sized companies entering foreign markets.¹¹

4. Know your trade agreements

Beyond the customs union with the EU for industrial goods, the Ministry of Trade lists free trade agreements in force with 25 countries, including the EFTA states, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and several Balkan and North African countries.¹² The Türkiye Ukraine agreement entered into force on 1 October 2026, with its tariff provisions applying from 1 January 2027.¹³ Preferential rates only apply when your goods meet the origin rules and you present the right proof of origin.

5. Get the documents right

An export declaration is filed by the exporter or its representative, together with the commercial invoice and any origin and movement certificates.¹⁴ A.TR certificates (for the EU customs union) are sold and approved by 186 chambers, and EUR.1, EUR MED and certificates of origin by 250 chambers, before customs endorses them.¹⁵ Since 2018 these documents can be issued electronically through the TOBB MEDOS system.¹⁶

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From first order to steady growth

Most exporters grow market by market: one reliable buyer, then a second country, then a distributor network. Turki.sh is built for that path. Suppliers present their range to verified buyers, deal makers bring buyers from their own networks, and service providers quote for freight, customs, inspection and insurance on the same deal.

This article is general information. Support amounts, eligibility and procedures change; confirm the current rules with the Ministry of Trade, your exporter association or Türk Eximbank.