Cargo handled at Türkiye’s ports reached an all-time high last month, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Tuesday.

Ports handled 43.88 million tons of cargo in February, marking the highest level ever recorded for the month, Uraloğlu said in a written statement citing data compiled by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs.

The January-February period saw total cargo handled at Turkish ports reach 88.34 million tons, he added.

The total volume of cargo the Turkish ports handled last year reached a new record of more than 553 million tons, a 4% year-over-year increase.

The statement on Tuesday said the container throughput amounted to 1.16 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), the second-highest February figure on record after 2024, representing a 13.9% increase compared with the same month last year.

In the first two months of the year, container handling rose 3% year-over-year to 2.24 million TEU.

Foreign trade cargo rises

Cargo shipped from Turkish ports to foreign destinations totaled 10.54 million tons in February, while cargo arriving from abroad increased 8.5% year-over-year to 22.12 million tons.

Total international maritime cargo traffic rose 6% compared with the same month last year to 32.66 million tons.

Among regional port authorities, facilities operating under the Aliağa Regional Port Authority handled the highest cargo volume in February at 7.35 million tons.

Ports in Kocaeli followed with 6.57 million tons, while those in Iskenderun handled 5.35 million tons.

Transit cargo carried by sea reached 5.56 million tons, while cabotage transport totaled 5.66 million tons.

Cement leads exports, crude oil tops imports

Portland cement was the most exported cargo type in February at 980,160 tons, followed by aluminum ore and concentrates and feldspar.

On the import side, crude oil ranked first among cargo types arriving at Turkish ports, totaling 2.58 million tons. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and non-agglomerated hard coal followed.

By destination, the largest share of seaborne exports from Türkiye went to Italy, followed by the United States and Egypt.

Meanwhile, the largest volume of cargo arriving at Turkish ports came from Russia, according to Uraloğlu.

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Türkiye’s industrial output decreased slightly on both an annual and monthly basis in January, opening a new year on a lower note, official data showed on Tuesday.

The industrial production index declined 1.8% on an annual basis in January, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

In the subsectors of the industry, the mining and quarrying index fell 2.8%, and the manufacturing index decreased 2.5% year-over-year, the data revealed.

On the other hand, the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply and distribution index expanded 5.6% in January compared to the same month of 2025.

Monthly, the seasonally and calendar-adjusted industrial production index dropped by 2.8% in January compared to December 2025. The monthly index was up 1.2% in December and 2.5% in November.

Despite a broad decline in several categories, an annual increase in output was seen in energy, capital goods and high technology.

High technology surged the most, at 22% year-over-year and 5.8% monthly, as per TurkStat.

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China’s trade grew by a fifth in the first two months of the year, far exceeding forecasts as stronger exports to major markets balanced out a drop in shipments to the U.S., according to official data released on Tuesday.

The boost is a lifeline for the world’s second-largest economy as domestic consumer activity has slumped, and adds to the record surplus achieved last year.

Official figures for the first two months of the year – usually combined to account for distortions arising from the varying Lunar New Year holiday – showed a strong start to 2026, before war broke out in the Middle East.

Exports climbed 21.8% year-over-year, the General Administration of Customs said, beating the 7.2% predicted in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

“Exports are likely to remain robust given the recent decline in U.S. tariffs and strong demand for semiconductors,” said Zichun Huang of Capital Economics.

Many of China’s key trading partners have increasingly called on Beijing to reduce its soaring trade surplus owing to its impact on local competition.

Globally, China saw significant increases in exports of products including automobiles, clothing and household appliances during the two months, the customs data showed.

The reading comes as Chinese leaders gather for a closely watched annual political meeting, which last week saw the government announce its lowest economic growth target in decades.

Among the challenges is a years-long slump in domestic spending, which has failed to recover since the end of the pandemic.

But in a sign of rebounding activity, the latest figures showed imports soared 19.8% in January-February, smashing the 7% estimated in the Bloomberg survey.

Oil imports surge

The jump follows official data on Monday that revealed consumer prices rose last month at their fastest pace in three years.

Meanwhile, exports to the U.S. sank 11.0% as President Donald Trump pressed ahead with his tariff campaign.

Beijing and Washington were locked in a blistering trade war last year, which at one point saw reciprocal levies in the triple digits.

There are hopes that tensions could cool, with Trump set to travel to China at the end of the month.

Shipments to the U.S. totalled $67.24 billion in January-February, the figures showed, compared with $75.56 billion in the same period last year.

That was offset, though, by exports to the European Union, which jumped 27.8%, while those to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) climbed 29.2%.

However, “events in the Middle East will increase China’s oil import bill but weigh on its import volumes,” Huang said in a note.

Worries about the global economy have intensified this month after the U.S.-Israel war on Iran sent oil prices soaring to their highest since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The conflict has seen the crucial Strait of Hormuz – through which a fifth of global oil travels – effectively shut off.

With tensions already rising last month, imports of oil by China – the world’s largest importer of the commodity – jumped 16% in January-February combined, the customs data showed Tuesday.

The strong export growth will likely “reinforce” the argument of trading partners concerned about China’s ballooning trade imbalance, wrote Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao acknowledged that China’s trade needed balancing when he spoke at a news event on Friday on the sidelines of the “Two Sessions” political meeting in Beijing.

“Exports and imports are like the two wheels of a vehicle. If they are balanced, the vehicle runs smoothly and goes further,” Wang said.

Pinpoint’s Zhang added that strong exports and a lower official growth target “suggest that China is unlikely to launch stimulus any time soon.”

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Türkiye’s Halkbank said it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle a yearslong case against the state-run bank over alleged violation of sanctions on Iran, in a move analysts said could pave the way to solving other diplomatic disputes.

Under the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement, the bank “will not admit to any criminal offenses, nor will it pay any judicial or administrative fines,” the bank said in a statement late on Monday.

The agreement, if approved by a judge, would relieve one of the main irritants between Türkiye and the U.S., as the NATO allies ‌experience their best ties in decades following Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency last year.

Halkbank stock surged as much as 9% on Tuesday. The Istanbul-listed shares had already closed 10% higher on Monday, the exchange’s maximum permitted increase.

The stock was up 4.5% at TL 49.88 ($1.13) at 0805 GMT.

U.S. prosecutors charged Halkbank in 2019 ⁠for allegedly helping Iran evade American economic sanctions.

Halkbank pleaded not guilty.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly rejected the charges against the bank, insisting that Ankara did not violate the U.S. embargo on Iran. Erdoğan once called the case unlawful and “ugly.”

Boon for Türkiye-U.S. ties

There had been signs that U.S. President Donald Trump was willing to end the long-running legal case, which was discussed in talks with Erdoğan at the White House in September.

Speaking to reporters a month later, Erdoğan said he had been assured by Trump that the complicated legal problem with Halkbank was “over.”

“Following the submission of a compliance report,” Halkbank and the U.S. attorney’s office in New York will submit a joint letter to the court “requesting the dismissal of the case,” the bank said in the statement.

“With the court’s approval, the criminal case against our bank in the US… will be concluded,” it added.

The bank said it had been informed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which is responsible for enforcing sanctions, “that it has closed the administrative proceedings against Halkbank without taking any further action.”

No money will change hands, ​and the charges will likely be dismissed after the monitor reviews Halkbank’s compliance, according to the agreement.

Deferred prosecution agreements let defendants avoid charges if they meet various conditions, typically over several months or a few years. The government dismisses cases after the defendants comply.

The U.S. government said on Monday the deal to resolve the case ​furthers its interest in curbing support for Iran, with which it is engaged in an expanding air war ​alongside Israel.

Türkiye seeks F-35 jets

With the Halkbank charges settled, the sides could begin to make progress resolving U.S. sanctions that currently block Ankara from purchasing U.S. F-35 fighter jets, a key demand from Türkiye.

“Trump and Erdoğan appear to be steadily clearing major ​disputes from the U.S.-Türkiye​ agenda,” said Hakan Akbaş, ⁠managing director at consultancy Strategic Advisory Services, pointing to easing tensions over Syria and now the Halkbank case.

“It raises the question whether Washington might soon clear the way ​for Ankara to purchase F-35 fighter jets despite existing sanctions.”

During Trump’s first term, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Türkiye over its acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, and excluded it from the F-35 fighter jet manufacturing and procurement program.

Ever since, Ankara has repeatedly called the move unfair and voiced hope that the sides could overcome the issue during Trump’s second term.

Erdoğan raised the issue during the September meeting with Trump, who later said the U.S. was “very seriously” considering the sale of F-35s to Türkiye.

The sides have said they are ⁠seeking a ​workaround to lift the sanctions.

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The export climate for Turkish manufacturers continued to improve moderately in February, a survey released on Monday showed.

The Manufacturing Export Climate Index, which tracks the performance of Türkiye’s top export markets, remained unchanged at 52.1 in February, the same level recorded in January, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) said.

The index has now stayed above the 50 threshold for 26 consecutive months, signaling continued improvement in demand conditions across key export markets.

Any reading above 50 indicates improving export market conditions, while values below that level point to deterioration.

The latest data suggests that the export environment for manufacturers remained moderately supportive midway through the first quarter of the year, with demand conditions strengthening without interruption for more than two years.

Growth across key export markets

Economic activity increased in seven of the 10 largest export markets for Turkish manufacturers in February, the survey said.

All of the top four markets, together accounting for more than a quarter of Türkiye’s manufacturing exports, were among those posting growth.

Expansion remained strong in Germany and the United Kingdom, although the pace of growth in the U.K. slowed slightly compared with January. In Germany, growth accelerated to its fastest pace in four months.

In the United States, economic activity continued to increase, but the rate of expansion slowed to the weakest level in four months.

Strong growth in UAE, slowdown in some European markets

Outside Europe, non-oil economic activity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) expanded strongly, with growth reaching its fastest pace in 22 months.

Among the economies tracked by the survey, the UAE recorded the second-fastest growth after Singapore.

However, production declined in several important export destinations, including France, Romania and Poland.

While the downturn in France and Poland eased compared with January, Romania saw a sharp contraction in manufacturing output. The decline was the steepest since the survey began in July 2023. Romania accounts for roughly 3% of Türkiye’s manufacturing exports.

Meanwhile, February data pointed to strong production growth in China, with the pace of expansion reaching its highest level since May 2023.

Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said improving demand conditions in most key export markets could support new business opportunities for Turkish manufacturers in the coming months.

Harker added that it remains to be seen whether recently announced U.S. tariffs will affect these trends, but for now the overall tone of the global economy appears broadly positive.

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Türkiye is turning its focus to modernizing its customs union with the European Union after securing recognition within the bloc’s emerging “Made in Europe” industrial framework, according to a senior official on Monday.

The EU unveiled last week its intensely debated Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) that will set low-carbon and “Made in EU” requirements for public procurement of, or subsidies for, making aluminum, cement and steel, and technologies including wind turbines, electrolysers or electric vehicles.

Türkiye and the business world long advocated for Türkiye’s inclusion into the framework.

Trade Minister Ömer Bolat on Monday said recent developments in the EU’s industrial policy reflect the impact of Türkiye’s diplomatic and business outreach.

He said Ankara was pleased to see that the draft industry support framework adopted by the European Commission includes references to the customs union, which he says helps safeguard trade flows and investments between Türkiye and the European Union.

“Including the customs union within this framework means securing both our mutual trade and the investments that European companies have made in Türkiye,” Bolat said.

He spoke at an event titled “Customs Union in its 30th Year and Türkiye-European Union Relations” organized by the Economic Development Foundation.

Moreover, he emphasized that Türkiye remains an indispensable part of the European industry and supply chain, noting that the country now ranks as the 16th largest economy in the world with a national income of $1.6 trillion.

The minister highlighted that the “Made in Europe” initiative became a primary concern in early December, leading to a period of intense trade diplomacy and stress regarding potential steel quotas and scrap export restrictions.

Bolat stressed that the most critical turning point in these negotiations was the comprehensive letters sent by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to EU leaders in mid-December to voice deep concerns and expectations for a positive outcome.

He also suggested that during the 30-year period of the customs union, the EU became the largest trading partner for Türkiye, while Türkiye evolved into a vital partner for the bloc.

He pointed out that total bilateral trade volume surged from $26.6 billion in 1995 to $233 billion in 2025, representing a ninefold increase that reflects the deepening economic integration between the two sides.

According to the minister, Türkiye conducts 43% of its total exports to the EU, while 32% of its imports originate from the union, with exports rising from $11 billion to $117 billion over three decades.

Bolat added that the relationship extends far beyond mere trade, as 70% of the $287 billion in direct international investment that entered Türkiye between 2003 and 2025 came from firms based in the European Union.

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