Business News Turkey April 2025

Business

Politics

Erdoğan meets with Tusk

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Ankara, where a new target of USD 15 bn was set for the bilateral trade volume, up from around USD 12 bn in 2024. Emphasising that Poland is one of the important markets for the Turkish construction sector, Erdoğan said that Turkey and Poland are two key allies positioned on the eastern and southern wings of NATO, commanding the two largest land armies of the alliance in Europe. Tusk stated that Poland will continue to support Turkey’s accession process to the European Union.

Mar. 12, 2025

 

Mayor of Istanbul imprisoned

On March 19, Turkish police detained Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). He was charged with corruption, extortion, bribery, money laundering, and supporting the illegal Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). As part of the same operation, about 100 others, among them two Istanbul district mayors from the CHP and several municipal officials, were also detained. Following initial questioning, İmamoğlu, who is denying all accusations, was sent to Marmara Prison awaiting trial on the corruption-related charges.

Mar. 24, 2025

 

Turkey among the countries on which U.S. imposes the lowest tariffs

Commenting on the new tariffs announced by the Trump administration, Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said that Turkey has been included in the group of countries to which the lowest additional tariff rate of 10% will be applied. Bolat added that his government has been striving to develop the trade and economic cooperation with the United States in a balanced manner on a win-win basis. Turkish exporters have pointed out that a general 10% tariff rate would allow Turkish products to enter the U.S. market on better conditions than for competing countries. However, there have been concerns that the much higher U.S. tariffs imposed on European Union goods could slow down economic activity in the region, which would likely have a negative impact on Turkey’s exports to Europe.

Apr. 5, 2025

 

Turkey to explore for oil and natural gas in Somalia’s onshore fields

Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Dahir Shire Mohamed, Somali Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, attended a ceremony in Ankara for the signing of “The Agreement for Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production in Somalia’s Land Areas between Türkiye and Somalia.” On this occasion, Bayraktar announced that the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) will begin exploring for oil and natural gas in the coming months in three land areas of Somalia covering approximately 16,000 square kilometres.

Apr. 10, 2025

Economy

Foreign trade deficit increases in February

In February 2025, the exports of the Turkish economy decreased by 1.6%, while the imports increased by 2.4% over the same month of the previous year (YOY). With exports amounting to USD 20.8 bn and imports to USD 28.5 bn, the trade deficit grew 14.8% to USD 7.8 bn in the same period. In February, Germany continued to be Turkey’s primary export partner with USD 1.7 bn, followed by the United Kingdom (USD 1.3 bn), and the USA (USD 1.2 bn). The Russian Federation was the country with the most imports to Turkey (USD 3.9 bn), ahead of China (USD 3.5 bn), and Germany (USD 2.1 bn).

Mar. 27, 2025

 

Under 3 million unemployed

In February 2025, approximately 2.9 million people aged 15 and older were officially out of work in Turkey. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.2%, 0.2 point lower than in the previous month, and 0.4 point lower than a year ago. The labour force participation rate was 53.2% overall, and 35.9% for females.

Mar. 27, 2025

 

Inflation continues to fall

In March 2025, consumer prices in Turkey were 2.46% higher than in the month before, with a CPI increase of 38.10% YOY. Thus, annual inflation continued to decline this month. The largest monthly price hike occurred in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (9.96%), followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.94%). The only decrease among the main product groups was recorded for clothing and footwear (-2.48%). The highest annual price increase was in education (80.42%). The domestic producer price index (D-PPI) rose by 1.88% on the month, and by 23.50% on the year.

Apr. 3, 2025

 

Slight decrease of industrial production

In February, Turkey’s industrial production index decreased by 1.9% YOY, with the manufacturing sector recording a minus of 2.5%. The largest increases in the manufacturing sector category were registered in the product groups “computer, electronic and optical products” (25.3%), “fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment)” (9.2%), and “repair and installation of machinery and equipment” (6.3%). The highest decreases occurred in the product groups “other transport equipment” (-44.0%), “basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations” (-16.4%), and “motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers” (-13.5%).

Apr. 10, 2025

 

Turkish Central Bank raises policy rate

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has announced an increase of its policy rate (the one-week repo auction rate) from 42.50% to 46.00%. The bank also raised the overnight lending rate from 46.00% to 49.00% and the overnight borrowing rate from 41.00% to 44.50%, stating that “the policy rate will be determined in a way to ensure the tightness required by the projected disinflation path taking into account realized and expected inflation, and the underlying trend.”

Apr. 17, 2025

Overview of Monthly Data

Growth Rates

Inflation