Turkey became the fifth largest exporter to Israel in 2024: Denial from the Ministry

Turkey has risen to become the fifth largest exporter to Israel in 2024, with 2.86 billion dollars in exports, following China, the USA, Germany, and Italy.

Data shared by journalist Metin Cihan revealed that Turkey is the 5th largest exporter to Israel. According to information based on an Al Jazeera report dated May 21, 2025, and United Nations International Trade Statistics (UN Comtrade) data, Turkey realized 2.86 billion dollars in exports to Israel in 2024. This data places Turkey as the fifth largest exporter to Israel, following China, the USA, Germany, and Italy.

The report states that Israel imported a total of 91.5 billion dollars in 2024, with the majority of these imports coming from countries such as China (19 billion dollars), the USA (9.4 billion dollars), and Germany (5.6 billion dollars).

Journalist Metin Cihan used the following expressions in his post on the social media platform X:

“We are the 5th largest exporter to Israel.

News: Al Jazeera

Source: United Nations International Trade Statistics”

By adding a visual chart from the relevant Al Jazeera report to his post, the journalist once again brought Turkey's commercial relations with Israel to the public agenda.

IT HAD EMERGED IN INTERNATIONAL SHIP TRAFFIC

Metin Cihan had previously documented and announced to the public cargo ships regularly sent from Turkey to Israeli ports using international maritime platforms. Following these posts, he was targeted by some circles close to the government. Government officials, on the other hand, argued that this trade was conducted by the private sector and claimed it could not be directly associated with state policies.

While the political administration in Turkey has developed harsh rhetoric against Israel, especially following the developments in Gaza, the fact that trade between the two countries continued to increase led to debates in the public sphere regarding a "contradiction between rhetoric and action." The opposition and some non-governmental organizations argue that there is a serious inconsistency between the government's rhetoric of support for Palestine and the practical commercial relations.

On the other hand, another reality is that those who protested Turkey's trade with Israel at various events were detained.

STATEMENT FROM THE MINISTRY

The Ministry of Trade reported that trade with Israel has been zero since May 2, 2024.

In the written statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that against Israel's attacks on Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria, and its genocide in Gaza, Turkey is the country that has put up the most valiant fight in the world in the fields of diplomacy, trade, law, health, and humanitarian aid.

The statement noted that although Turkey's name was not mentioned in the original English version of the news, the attempt to create an image that "Turkey continues trade with Israel in 2024" and the fact that some media outlets embraced this clearly reveals their cooperation with a terror fugitive, and it was reported that they would continue to fight against lies on this subject more strongly.

The statement reminded that Turkey reduced its trade with Israel by approximately 30 percent in the 7-month period from October 7, 2023, to May 2, 2024, while efforts to ensure a ceasefire in the region and improve the situation continued, and included the following statements:

"With the decision of our government, we stopped exports to Israel in 1019 products under 54 headings in the first phase on April 9, 2024. Meanwhile, it has been repeatedly emphasized that trade with Israel in the period after October 7, 2023, was carried out by private sector organizations and foreign-capital investors. Three weeks later, on May 2, 2024, with the decision taken by our government, exports, imports, and transit trade from Turkey to Israel in all product groups were completely stopped. No trade transactions with Israel can be carried out at customs and in our free zones. Trade with Israel has been zero since May 2, 2024. The figure of 2.8 billion dollars in exports from Turkey to Israel in 2024 given in the news is also completely wrong. Before our decision to stop trade on May 2, 2024, exports in the first 4 months of 2024 were 1 billion 522 million dollars, and this includes exports to Palestine."

Reminding that a unique controlled trade mechanism was developed in accordance with the "Turkey-Palestine state protocol," the statement provided the information that "Exports from Turkey to Palestine, which are carried out in accordance with the practice of limited permission, with only the importer being Palestinian, the destination address being in Palestine, and each application being strictly checked by our Ministry of Trade, also totaled 797 million dollars in 2024."

Underlining that the distorted news is in the nature of slander aimed entirely at creating a perception that "Turkey is still exporting to Israel," the following was recorded:

"It is clear that it aims to discredit the policies and measures our government has taken against Israel's genocides and to serve Israel's interests outright. Turkey has waived its 9.5 billion dollar foreign trade with Israel, based on 2022 data, of which 7 billion dollars was exports, to support the Palestinian cause and innocent Palestinians. We present to the attention of our public that the official, real, and statistical data-based statements of our government and our Ministry of Trade should be respected, and that the lies, distortions, and cherry-picked news of influence agent terror fugitives serving Israel should not be taken into account."

News Source: 12punto