According to the export statistics by operating provinces announced by the Ministry of Trade, exports from the Aegean Region fell by $496 million in the first two months of 2026. While the region posted exports of $6.8 billion in the January-February period of 2025, this figure stood at $6.3 billion in the same period of 2026.
According to export statistics by activity provinces released by the Ministry of Trade, the Aegean Region's exports fell by 496 million dollars in the first two months of 2026. While the region achieved 6.8 billion dollars in exports during January-February 2025, it remained at 6.3 billion dollars in the same period of 2026.
In February, the Aegean Region's exports declined by 6.5 percent, falling from 3.374 billion dollars to 3.155 billion dollars.
The bulk of the decline in regional exports originated from İzmir and Manisa, which account for approximately 70 percent of total exports. The decline in these two provinces' exports totaled 462 million dollars, corresponding to 93 percent of the total decline. Additionally, Afyonkarahisar's exports fell by 68 million dollars in the first two months of the year.
The Aegean Region, which experienced an 8 percent decline in exports in January, could not prevent a 6.5 percent contraction in February. The Aegean Region, which ranks second in contributions to Turkey's exports, recorded 286 million dollars in export losses in January and 210 million dollars in February.
Meanwhile, the ISO Turkey Export Climate Index, which measures operating conditions in Turkey's manufacturing sector's main export markets, stood at 52.1 in February. Although the index points to a moderate improvement in manufacturers' export markets, the recovery in global demand has yet to be reflected in the Aegean Region's exports.
İzmir drops to fourth in export rankings
İzmir, Turkey's third-largest exporting province, declined by 8.3 percent in February, falling from 1.747 billion dollars to 1.601 billion dollars. This decline caused İzmir to fall behind Bursa in the export rankings. Thus, İzmir dropped to fourth place among Turkey's top exporting provinces.
İzmir's exports declined by 9.5 percent in the first two months of 2026, falling from 3.649 billion dollars to 3.301 billion dollars.
Manisa's decline continues
The contraction in exports in Manisa, which provides the second-largest contribution to the Aegean Region's exports, continued in February. Exports that stood at 611 million dollars in February 2025 fell to 561 million dollars in February 2026, a decline of 8 percent.
The sharpest export decline in the region occurred in Afyonkarahisar. The city, which exported 130 million dollars in February 2025, fell to 62.3 million dollars in the same period of 2026. Thus, the export decline rate reached 52 percent.
Some provinces increased exports
Despite the overall decline in the region, some provinces recorded export growth.
-Denizli increased its exports by 9.3 percent, raising them from 343 million dollars to 375 million dollars.
-Muğla achieved a 9 percent increase, raising exports to 107.5 million dollars.
-Kütahya reached 75.4 million dollars with an 8 percent increase.
-Uşak achieved 30.4 million dollars in exports with a 1 percent increase.
In contrast, Balıkesir maintained its performance from the same month of the previous year with 190.8 million dollars in exports, while Aydın's exports declined by 1 percent to 151 million dollars.
The overall picture reveals that exporters face challenges in international competition due to real exchange rate pressures and rising production costs.
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