Turkey's exports to African countries increased by 1.7% on an annual basis in 2024, reaching $19 billion 419 million 425 thousand.
While Turkey adopted the "Strategy for Improving Commercial and Economic Relations with African Countries" in 2003, the projects and collaborations implemented for the African continent since that date continue to contribute to trade with the continent.
According to the information compiled by the AA correspondent from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) data, Turkey exported to 56 African countries last year. During this period, sales to Africa accounted for 7.4% of Turkey's total exports. The country's exports to African countries increased by 1.7% on an annual basis last year, reaching 19 billion 419 million 425 thousand dollars. Looking at the distribution of exports by country, it was seen that Egypt ranked first with 3.5 billion dollars. This country was followed by Morocco with 3.1 billion dollars and Libya with 2.5 billion dollars.
The chemical sector realized the most exports
Looking at the distribution of Turkey's exports to African countries by sector, the most exports in the said period were realized by chemical substances and products with 3.1 billion dollars, cereals, pulses, oilseeds and products with 2.5 billion dollars, steel with 2 billion dollars, automotive industry with 1.4 billion dollars, and electricity and electronics sectors with 1.3 billion dollars.
The machinery and equipment sector exported 1.3 million dollars to African countries, the textile and raw materials sector exported 1.3 billion dollars, the furniture, paper and forest products sector exported 1.1 billion dollars, and iron and non-ferrous metals exported 912.7 million dollars.
The sectors that exported the least to the continent were ornamental plants and products with 2.5 million dollars, olives and olive oil with 17.4 million dollars, fresh fruits and vegetables with 24.7 million dollars, dried fruits and products with 52 million dollars, and tobacco products with 107.1 million dollars.
When the top 10 countries in exports to Africa last year were examined, it was seen that exports to these countries corresponded to 77.3% of total exports. 15 billion 14.1 million dollars worth of exports were made to 10 African countries, namely Algeria, Djibouti, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia.
During this period, the normalization steps in the relations between Turkey and Egypt also bore fruit. The meeting and contacts between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi last year carried Turkey-Egypt relations much further. The meetings were also reflected in the export data. With the developments, it was seen that exports to Egypt increased by 21.8% on an annual basis.
The other countries where exports increased the most on an annual basis were Ghana with 49.6%, Nigeria with 9.1%, Libya with 8.4%, and Morocco with 6.9%.