Türkiye exported goods worth $25.6 billion in July 2026, up 2.9% from a year earlier and the highest July total in the republic's history, according to the Ministry of Trade. The more useful signal for international companies lies below the national headline: Mersin, İzmir and Antalya together produced 64.3% of the monthly year-on-year increase, while the established industrial belt led by Istanbul and Kocaeli still accounted for the largest absolute volumes.
The national record and the seven-month trend
Exports reached $161.601 billion in January–July, 3.4% above the same period of 2025. The ministry says exports increased in 54 provinces during those seven months and 22 provinces exceeded $1 billion. These are gross merchandise-export values reported in US dollars. They are not company profits, investment returns or a measure of the full economic output of each province.
The five largest provincial export bases in July
Istanbul ranked first with $5.846 billion, followed by Kocaeli at $3.389 billion, İzmir at $2.074 billion, Bursa at $1.771 billion and Tekirdağ at $1.328 billion. The list underlines the weight of Marmara's manufacturing and logistics network, while İzmir keeps the Aegean region in the top three. For a foreign supplier, these totals indicate the scale of existing export ecosystems, not necessarily where a new project will earn the highest margin.
Where the biggest annual increases occurred
Measured as the change from July 2025, Mersin added $194 million, İzmir $135 million, Antalya $129 million, Sakarya $128 million and Gaziantep $121 million. The first three accounted for 64.3% of Türkiye's total increase in the month. That concentration is noteworthy for logistics, port services and regional supply chains, but one month cannot establish a durable growth rate. Product mix and large individual shipments can change the ranking quickly.
Vehicles, machinery and electrical equipment led
The leading customs chapters were motor vehicles, machinery and boilers, and electrical machinery and equipment. Kocaeli, Bursa and Sakarya contributed most to vehicle exports; Istanbul, Bursa and İzmir led machinery; and Istanbul, Kocaeli and Ankara led electrical equipment. Investors should therefore read provincial totals together with sector composition, labour availability, supplier density, port or rail access and the currency structure of contracts.
The broader January–July winners differ
For the first seven months, Ankara posted the largest increase at $1.131 billion, followed by Bursa at $959 million, Kocaeli at $590 million, Yalova at $460 million and Adana at $373 million. Ankara, Bursa and Kocaeli supplied 50.2% of the national increase over the period. This longer window reduces some monthly noise and points to strong manufacturing momentum outside the largest July gainers.
How international businesses should use the data
Treat the bulletin as a screening tool rather than an investment verdict. Compare several months, identify the customs chapters behind a province's movement and verify whether activity comes from a broad supplier base or a small number of large exporters. Then test practical factors such as free-zone access, freight times, energy costs, skilled labour and incentives. Turkey Compass's reading is that July confirms resilient export capacity, but the provincial split is the more decision-useful story than the record headline alone.