ANKARA CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY EXPORT ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR:
MORE THAN 40 PERCENT OF TÜRKİYE’S EXPORT INCREASE CAME FROM ANKARA
ACI CHAIRMAN SEYİT ARDIÇ:
“THIS SUCCESS IS THE RESULT OF THE TRANSFORMATION IN OUR PRODUCTION STRUCTURE”
“WE MUST SPREAD TECHNOLOGICAL KNOW-HOW ACROSS OUR ENTIRE INDUSTRY”
According to the report prepared by the Ankara Chamber of Industry, Ankara alone accounted for more than 40 percent of Türkiye’s export increase in the first six months of the year. While Türkiye’s exports increased by 4.7 billion dollars, approximately 2 billion dollars of this increase came from Ankara. Ankara’s exports, which stood at 7.1 billion dollars in the first half of last year, rose by 27.5 percent to 9.1 billion dollars. Evaluating the report, which presents the key dynamics behind the momentum achieved by Ankara industry in exports as well as the opportunities and risks for the upcoming period, ACI Chairman Seyit Ardıç said, “This success is the result of the transformation in our production structure. The production capability that developed for many years through public demand is now finding its own customers in global markets. To make this success permanent, our main goal must be to spread the know-how and production capability accumulated in the defense and technology sectors to more companies, sectors and markets.”
The Ankara Chamber of Industry (ACI) shared with the public its Export Assessment Report, in which it comprehensively analyzed foreign trade data for the January-June period of 2026. The report, titled “A New Threshold in Exports: From Success to Sustainability,” evaluated the export performance of Türkiye and Ankara in terms of sectors, product groups, markets and sustainable competitiveness. The report also revealed the key dynamics behind the momentum achieved by Ankara industry in exports, as well as the opportunities and risks for the upcoming period.
According to the report, Türkiye’s exports increased by 3.6 percent in the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period of the previous year, rising from 131.4 billion dollars to 136.1 billion dollars. The main driver of this increase was industry, with industrial sector exports rising by 4.5 percent to 97.6 billion dollars. Ankara’s exports, on the other hand, increased by 27.5 percent, rising from 7.1 billion dollars to 9.1 billion dollars. Approximately 2 billion dollars of Türkiye’s nearly 4.7 billion-dollar export increase in the first six months came from Ankara. Ankara alone accounted for more than 40 percent of Türkiye’s export increase.
Ankara’s strong export performance was not limited to the developments of the last year. The capital’s exports in the January-June period more than doubled between 2021 and 2026, rising from 4.4 billion dollars to 9.1 billion dollars. Ankara’s share in national exports also increased from 4.24 percent to 6.67 percent during this period.
THE WEIGHT OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY IN ANKARA’S EXPORTS IS INCREASING
The report revealed that the transformation in the production structure has been strongly reflected in Ankara’s export performance.
The electrical and electronics sector increased its exports by 65.7 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period of the previous year, exceeding 1 billion dollars. Thus, for the first time, it surpassed the chemicals sector and became Ankara’s largest export sector. The automotive industry reached 1.01 billion dollars with an increase of 30.7 percent. For the first time in Ankara’s history, both sectors separately exceeded the 1 billion-dollar export threshold. Machinery and accessories recorded 880 million dollars in exports, while chemicals and chemical products reached 875 million dollars; last year, chemicals had been Ankara’s largest export item.
The report also drew attention to the strong contribution of the defense and aerospace industry to export growth, emphasizing that Ankara’s high value-added and technology-intensive production capacity has begun to play a decisive role in foreign trade performance. According to ACI’s Technological Analysis Report, the share of high-technology products in Ankara’s exports stood at 13 percent in 2025, approximately three times the Türkiye average.
DEFENSE AND AEROSPACE STOOD OUT AS THE MAIN DRIVER OF GROWTH
Due to the scope of the data set used, sectoral statistics do not present the defense and aerospace industry under a separate heading. The difference between Ankara’s total exports and the total in the sector table rose from 1.74 billion dollars in the first half of 2025 to 2.67 billion dollars this year; the share of this difference in Ankara’s exports increased from 24.4 percent to 29.5 percent.
According to the report’s calculation, a large part of this difference stems from the defense and aerospace industry, and nearly half of Ankara’s total export increase comes from this field. The report interprets this picture as the transformation of technology and production capability developed through public demand into an export capacity that can compete in international markets over time.
15 OUT OF 25 SECTORS INCREASED THEIR EXPORTS
According to the report, exports increased in 15 of the 25 exporting sectors in Ankara, while 10 sectors recorded declines. Electrical-electronics, automotive industry, machinery and accessories, and mining products were among the sectors that contributed most to export growth.
Despite the strong performance, the report assessed that the concentration of export growth in certain sectors and certain markets is a structural issue that should be closely monitored in the upcoming period. It emphasized the importance of spreading technology-intensive production across broader sectors, increasing product and market diversity in exports, and making growth more balanced.
NEW MARKETS AND PRODUCT DIVERSITY
The countries to which Ankara exported the most were, respectively, the United States, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and China. Approximately three-quarters of the export increase came from Ukraine, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States. In the same period, while the share of Türkiye’s top 20 markets in total exports decreased from 65.4 percent to 64.6 percent, this rate increased in Ankara from 63.8 percent to 72.4 percent. While Türkiye expanded its market base, Ankara’s growth was concentrated in a limited number of markets; exports to markets outside the top 20 declined. These two opposite trends emerging within the same year were among the main structural findings emphasized in the report.
The report assessed that in order for exports to grow sustainably, strengthening the position in existing markets as well as opening up to new markets and increasing product diversity are of strategic importance.
ACI CHAIRMAN ARDIÇ: WE MUST SPREAD TECHNOLOGICAL KNOW-HOW ACROSS OUR ENTIRE INDUSTRY
Ankara Chamber of Industry Chairman Seyit Ardıç stated that the capital’s export performance is one of the most important indicators of the transformation in its production structure, and said:
“The strong performance achieved in Ankara’s exports in the first half of 2026 demonstrates the transformation in our production structure, the strengthening of our high value-added sectors and the growing position of Ankara industry in international markets. This growth, which is far above the Türkiye average, has further reinforced the strategic role our capital plays in exports.”
Chairman Ardıç emphasized that the rise of the electrical and electronics sector to the leading position in Ankara’s exports, together with the strong contribution of defense and aerospace, shows that the technological center of gravity of industry is changing.
“This success is the result of the production capacity, technology and R&D know-how accumulated over many years in the defense and aerospace industry, as well as the reflection of our strong industrial ecosystem on foreign trade.”
Chairman Ardıç underlined that the main goal in the upcoming period should be to spread this success to a broader production base, and continued as follows:
“The fact that nearly half of Ankara’s export increase comes from defense and aerospace, and three-quarters comes from four markets, shows that this success is strong but based on a concentrated structure. While the share of high technology in Ankara’s exports has reached nearly three times the Türkiye average, the main goal must be to spread this know-how to more companies, sectors and markets. We must expand our market and production base and spread the know-how and production capability accumulated in our defense and technology companies to the supply chain, medium-technology sectors and our industry as a whole. As the Ankara Chamber of Industry, we will continue with determination to develop policy proposals that will increase the competitiveness of our industry, make our exports more balanced and sustainable, and carry forward the transformation that will make Ankara a regional center in high-technology production and exports.”