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A sushi production line at Turkey's Kocaman Fisheries. The company exports to 30 countries and will soon be sending its sushi products to the Gulf region

Turkish fish processors adapt as taste for sushi grows

Turkish seafood processors are expanding their product range to cash in on new tastes, eating habits and markets, adding the Japanese delicacy sushi to their offerings. Not so long ago sushi was a rarity in Turkey. It featured on the menus of a few Japanese restaurants in tourist areas catering to foreign visitors rather than […]

Person, Worker, Clothing Turkish Petroleum Corporation signed an agreement last week to participate in an offshore oil and gas bidding jointly with Pakistani companies

Turkey steps up oil exploration in Pakistan

Energy-poor Turkey is expanding into international oil and gas exploration with a focus on Pakistan, a senior government official has said. “Turkish firms are now turning their focus to international opportunities,” Alparslan Bayraktar, the energy and natural resources minister, said in a speech in Pakistan, according to Daily Sabah newspaper. This week, state-run Turkish Petroleum […]

Turkey's trade minister Omer Bolat. Turkey has commenced negotiations with the GCC after previously securing free trade deals with the UAE and Qatar

Gulf countries start free trade talks with Turkey

The Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Turkey have begun talks towards a free trade agreement, the UAE’s state-run Wam news agency reported. Ankara has already signed free trade agreements with the UAE and Qatar, Wam said, citing Turkish trade minister Ömer Bolat. The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are all members of the […]

People in Istanbul using their mobile phones. Turkey’s fintech ecosystem and young population are some of the factors behind a burgeoning startup sector

Turkish startups scaling up, despite political unrest

Turkey’s startups bucked global trends in 2024, posting significant increases in the number of transactions and volumes.  Despite the current political turmoil, further growth is forecast for the year ahead. There were 331 transactions recorded last year, compared with 297 in 2023, according to a recent report by financial services firm KPMG. Value increased by […]

AviLease will provide Turkish Airlines with a total of eight planes

PIF-backed AviLease agrees Turkish Airlines rentals

Saudi Arabia’s Aircraft Leasing Company (AviLease) has signed long-term leases with state-owned Turkish Airlines for Airbus A320neo aircraft.  Two of the aircraft have already been delivered, with the remaining six scheduled for delivery throughout 2025, the airline said in a statement. Riyadh-based AviLease’s CEO Edward O’Byrne, said these aircraft will support Turkish Airlines’ growth plans and […]

A note in a book store says it has joined the Turkish opposition's call for a shopping boycott following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu

Turkish stocks drop 3% during global selloff

Turkish stocks dropped more than 3 percent on Monday, led by banks and fuelled by a global market selloff over US tariffs and counter moves. There is also ongoing pressure on the lira due to the jailing last month of Istanbul’s mayor. Istanbul’s main share index was off 2.5 percent at 08:50 GMT after opening […]

Turkey's Izmir container terminal. Trade between Turkey and the US rose 5 percent to $35.2bn in 2024

Turkey favours trade boost with US despite tariffs

Turkey aims to increase bilateral trade with the US to $100 billion, despite facing a 10 percent traffic from the Trump administration, according to a news report. Ankara is working towards removing the new tariffs imposed by Washington, Hurriet Daily News an English daily, reported citing trade minister Ömer Bolat. The country is ramping up trade […]

Turkey textiles Female workers working in a textile factory

Textile companies in Turkey move to Egypt to compete

Producers in Turkey’s once vibrant textiles industry are looking at moving to Egypt and elsewhere to stay afloat in the face of rising costs and fierce international competition. Company closures and job losses mean employment in the textiles sector has dropped below one million for the first time since the height of the Covid pandemic, […]

Car parts form one of Turkey's main exports

Turkey’s auto industry hit hardest by tariffs

Turkish exporters expressed mixed feelings on the news of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.  There was relief that most sectors escaped with just a 10 percent impost, but Turkey’s car and parts producers, one of the country’s leading manufacturing and exporting sectors, were much less happy with the 25 percent tariff on all automotive […]

Shoppers in a mall in Istanbul. The Turkish consumer price index measure of inflation has fallen for 10 months

Turkish inflation cools but may soon rise again

Turkey’s inflation rate eased for the tenth straight month in March, although there are concerns that persistent political unrest could lead to a reversal of this trend in coming months, as the cost of a weaker currency and disruptions to the economy flow into the pricing chain.  The consumer price index fell to 38.1 percent […]

Turkey's Izmir port. While exports to Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman fell, these losses have been eclipsed by huge rises in exports to the UAE and Qatar

UAE enters the major league of Turkish export markets

Turkey’s exports to the GCC bloc rose sharply in February, driven by a strong increase in shipments to the United Arab Emirates. The UAE figures offset falls in sales to some other GCC member states. The numbers were released before the detention two weeks ago of Istanbul mayor and leading opposition figure Ekrem İmamoğlu, which […]

New residential buildings being constructed for people left homeless after the earthquake in Hatay province, Turkey

World Bank gives $500m to create new jobs in Turkey

Turkey is to receive $500 million from the World Bank to support economic recovery in areas devastated by the February 2023 earthquakes, according to a statement. The earthquakes killed more than 50,000 people and displaced more than 3.3 million. They are estimated to have inflicted a $104 billion hit on the Turkish economy, the Strategy and […]

Rising property prices in Turkey and the allure of golden visa programmes are driving many Turks to buy homes abroad

Golden visa lure draws Turks to Dubai real estate

An increasing number of Turkish citizens are investing in real estate overseas, with Dubai and Greece emerging as top destinations, according to a news report. Last year, Turks spent more than $2.5 billion, up 21 percent year on year, in foreign property purchases, Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing central bank data. In January 2025 alone, […]

A solar cell factory in the Jiangsu province of China. Turkey wants to develop an integrated solar energy sector

Turkey gives five companies go-ahead to build solar cell factories

Turkey’s government has approved a series of projects designed to boost the country’s self-sufficiency in renewables technology – and lay the groundwork for exports. Last week, as protests continued in Istanbul and interest rates spiralled, Mehmet Kacır, Turkey’s industry and technology minister, announced that five private sector businesses – Alfa Solar, Astroenergy, CW Solar Cell, […]

Turkey's transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said the government is close to securing funding for the railway

Turkey to tender rail project under Development Road plan

Turkey plans to float a tender for a new rail project that is part of the Development Road Project, a new freight link planned between Asia and Europe, according to a news report. The tender will be issued in the coming months, Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu. Ankara is […]

US secretary of state Marco Rubio with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan this week. The two countries hit each other with tariffs in 2018 during the first Trump administration

EU customs union makes Turkey a US tariff target

Turkey’s customs entanglement with the European Union (EU) makes it vulnerable to retaliatory tariffs from the United States in the months ahead. The White House has collated a “dirty 15” list of countries which it alleges maintain unfair levies on goods and substantial trade surpluses over the US. They are expected to be the first […]

Students from several universities take part in a protest against the detention of Istanbul mayor Ekram İmamoğlu

Protests in Turkey predicted to worsen fall in industrial activity

Industrial activity in Turkey fell for a fourth straight month to a two-year low in March, hit by fewer export orders and cooling domestic demand, central bank data shows. The decline is likely to be exacerbated by political unrest and financial fallout from the arrest last week of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekram İmamoğlu, a […]

Turkey Wealth Fund owns almost half of Turkish Airlines

UAE banks back Turkey Wealth Fund’s $1.2bn loan

State-backed Turkey Wealth Fund has secured its first loan without a treasury guarantee, backed by UAE-listed banks, a local newspaper reported. The sovereign fund raised €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) two-year syndicated loan from 20 banks from 12 countries, Daily Sabah reported. The interest rate was set at Euro interbank offered rate, plus 2 percent annually for […]

Farmers in Turkey have reduced their expected citrus output following a bitter cold snap

‘Unprecedented’ cold weather hammers Turkey’s citrus crops

Sharp frosts in important agricultural districts in Turkey’s south have wrought havoc on citrus production, with some regions reporting losses of up to 80 percent. Long-term damage to plantations is adding to the problems of an industry already struggling with climate change. Temperatures fell well below zero over a series of nights in the normally […]

Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu gather to protest against his detention. Uncertainty in Turkey may dampen US investor interest

Turkish political turmoil risks undermining US investor appetite

Last week’s arrest of the mayor of Istanbul and resulting political unrest in Turkey’s financial capital may cool US companies’ interest in doing business in the country, industry observers say. Ekrem İmamoğlu, a popular opposition figure who had been gearing up to run in the 2028 presidential election, was detained last Wednesday on charges of […]

Turkish markets

Regulators take action to stabilise Turkish markets after arrests

Efforts by Turkish regulators to stabilise the country’s money markets, which were thrown into turmoil by the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul last week, appear to be having some effect, with losses on the country’s stock market narrowing. Markets were rocked and political unrest ensued after the arrest and detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, a […]