According to data from the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs under the Ministry of Transport of Turkey, the country’s seaports handled 366.79 million tonnes of cargo in the first eight months of 2025, a 3% increase compared to the same period last year. In August, 43.94 million tonnes were handled (up 2.7%), of which 11.84 million tonnes were exported (up 2%), 20.77 million tonnes were imported (up 4.6%), and 5.97 million tonnes were cabotage (up 5.7%). Transit volumes decreased to 5.34 million tonnes (-5.7%).
The ports with the largest transshipment volumes in August were Aliyaga (7.53 million tonnes), Kocaeli (6.75 million tonnes), Iskenderun (4.94 million tonnes), Ceyhan (4.05 million tonnes), Tekerdağ (3.93 million tonnes), and Mersin (3.64 million tonnes). The country’s ten leading ports accounted for 83.8% of total cargo turnover, handling 36.8 million tons. The main export commodities were Portland cement (1.04 million tons), clinker, diesel fuel, feldspar, and sheet metal coils. Turkey’s main export destinations are Italy, the United States, Egypt, Spain, and Greece.
Turkey’s imports in August primarily came from the United States (1.1 million tons), China (1.04 million tons), Egypt (921,800 tons), and Brazil (893,600 tons). Container throughput at the ports from January to August increased by 3.5%, reaching 9.38 million TEUs. In August, 1.18 million TEUs were handled, an increase of 0.4% compared to the previous year.