Foreign Trade

Foreign trade volume of Hatay amounted to approximately 6. 5 billion $ in 20132. Exports make up about 4 .4 billion $ and imports make up 2.1 billion $ of this amount. Hatay ranks 7thin exports and 119th in imports among provinces, with this foreign trade performance.

Foreign Trade Volume of Hatay on Annual Basis ($ 1000)

Kaynak: Ministry of Economy, 2013

Foreign Trade of Hatay increases every year. Hatay achieved an approximately 7-fold increase in its foreign trade volume after 2003. Although the growth trend rate of foreign trade volume was interrupted in 2009, due to the global economic crisis and was back on track in 2010 between for the period of 2003 and 2012 the trend has been upwards. According to the data of Ministry of Economy, Hatay reached a record high in terms of imports and exports, and its foreign trade volume increased by 37. 5% in 2011, compared to the previous year. While imports remained unchanged from the previous year, there was a small in decline in imports in 2012, in which the effects of the crisis in Syria were substantially observed.

Hatay ranks 18th among 81 provinces in the index of "product diversity" and 28th in the "simplicity index" of the goods exported in the "Foreign Trade Potential of Provinces Survey," conducted by the Ministry of Economy. According to survey results, Hatay is among the provinces exporting high-variety products in comparison to other provinces and products which are not ordinary. Furthermore; it was stated that, exports of the province could increase much more with the new generation incentives, instead of the available incentives.

Especially the majority of industrial products, based on iron and steel industry and agricultural products, mainly fresh fruits and vegetables in exports of Hatay can be clearly seen.

Sectoral Distribution of Hatay's Exports in 2013

Source: Center of Turkish Exporters (CTE), 2013

Extending its market every day, Hatay makes around 63% of its exports to 10 countries.

Top 10 Countries in Hatay's Exports (2013)

Source: Centre of Turkish Exporters, 2014

In 2013, Iraq moved from second position to first position by increasing its share in Hatay's exports.

Although our exports to Syria came to a halt in 2011, because of the crisis in that country, this situation did not affect the exports of Hatay, which increases its foreign markets every single day, negatively. Furthermore; while the share of the Eastern Countries within the first ten countries to which Hatay exports was 35.3% in 2010 before the crisis, it reached 45.8% in 2012. If the stability is provided again in the Middle East, it is expected that the growth rate of exports of Hatay, which increases its market and has a more prominent role in markets other than the Middle East will increase even more.