Speaking on the second day of Türkiye Innovation Week 2026, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat announced that the average value of exports per kilogram had risen from $1.53 last year to $1.73 by the end of the first nine months of the year.
Organized by the Türkiye Exporters Assembly with the support of the Ministry of Trade at the Haliç Congress Center, this year's event is being held under the theme "Humanity 6.0—The New Phase of Humanity." The 13th edition of the event addresses new technologies, products and business models, as well as Türkiye's position in a changing world.
Export target surpassed
Bolat said Türkiye had continued its economic development despite challenges in global trade, regional conflicts, the trend toward protectionism in trade and rising commodity prices. Noting that economic growth had continued uninterrupted for 16 years, Bolat said national income had reached $1.7 trillion, while per capita national income had risen to $18,300.
Bolat said monthly export records had been set in five of the first nine months of the year and increases had been recorded in six months. He stated that annualized exports had risen 5.2 percent to $283.7 billion as of September. This figure was $1.7 billion above the year-end target of $282 billion.
Bolat said the year-end target for goods and services exports was $410 billion, adding that the annualized total had reached $409 billion as of September.
Share of high-tech products rises
Bolat said medium-high- and high-technology products accounted for 30.4 percent of total goods exports in 2002, while exports in this category had risen to $112 billion by the end of last year. He announced that exports in this category had reached $86.5 billion in the first nine months of this year, with their share of the total rising to 43.7 percent.
Bolat said Türkiye aimed to increase exports of products containing added value, brands, innovation and high technology while maintaining its competitiveness in traditional and labor-intensive products. He added that research and development, innovation, branding and design were important to this transformation.
Export value per kilogram by sector
Bolat said the export value per kilogram rose to $2.11 when high-tonnage but lower-value export items such as cement and marble were excluded from the calculation, drawing attention to differences between sectors.
According to figures provided by Bolat, the export value per kilogram stood at $61.50 in the defense industry, $25 in pharmaceuticals, $14 in shipbuilding and yacht manufacturing, and $9 in the automotive industry. The value per kilogram in ready-to-wear apparel was reported to reach between $80 and $100.
$30 billion allocated for technology investments
Bolat said tax incentives, grants and low-cost financing support were being provided under the Investment Commitment Advance Loan Program and the HIT-30 High Technology Investment Program. He announced that $30 billion had been allocated through these programs to investments aimed at developing Türkiye's technology and value-added production.
Bolat said exporters had received 1.8 trillion Turkish liras in loans and support through export rediscount loans and export insurance programs over the past 20 months. He added that these measures had provided total facilitation worth 480 billion Turkish liras.
Emphasis on artificial intelligence
Bolat said artificial intelligence had begun changing people's lives, adding that the aim was not for technology to replace people but for people to use technology to build a more productive life and economic system. Bolat also shared the assessment that artificial intelligence could increase global trade by 40 percent by 2040.
Following the speeches, the İnovaLİG Awards Ceremony and the Strategic Partners Plaque Presentation Ceremony were held.
İnovaLİG awards
Speaking at the awards ceremony, TİM President Mustafa Gültepe announced that 2,641 companies from 70 provinces had applied to İnovaLİG this year, compared with 460 companies when the program began in 2014. Gültepe said medium-high- and high-technology products accounted for 40 percent of Türkiye's industrial product exports by value, adding that research and development and innovation needed to be incorporated more extensively into business processes.
At the awards presented by Bolat and Gültepe, Kipaş Tekstil won first place in the Innovation Strategy category, ROKETSAN in the Innovation Organization and Culture category, Borçelik in the Innovation Cycle category, Termo Isı Sistemleri in the Innovation Resources category, and Gemak Gemi in the Innovation Results category among large-scale enterprises. In the SME category, Asis Otomasyon, Solimpeks Enerji, Chef Seasons, VSY Biyoteknoloji and Semikal Teknoloji respectively won first place in the same categories.
