UAE enters the major league of Turkish export markets

2025 shipments worth $1.4bn

Non-energy sectors behind rise

Turkey’s exports to the GCC bloc rose sharply in February, driven by a strong increase in shipments to the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE figures offset falls in sales to some other GCC member states.

The numbers were released before the detention two weeks ago of Istanbul mayor and leading opposition figure Ekrem İmamoğlu, which roiled financial markets and resulted in widespread street protests in Turkish cities. 

Following the arrest of İmamoğlu, the lira sank 14 percent to 42 to $1 but has since stabilised at around 38 to $1. Inflation remains around 39 percent while capital outflows have reached $27 billion.

More positively, exports to the UAE shot up 81 percent year-on-year in February, totalling just under $600 million, taking Turkish shipments to the Emirates so far in 2025 to $1.46 billion, nearly double the opening two months of last year.

This means Turkey may eclipse the overall $8.3 billion in UAE-bound exports in 2024.

The increase in shipments propelled the UAE into the top 10 destinations for Turkish exports, ranking it eighth in February, according to data issued by the Turkish Exporters Assembly, behind traditional trade partners such as Germany, Italy and the UK. 

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While Turkish exports to Qatar grew by 88 percent in February, the volume of trade, at just $99.5 million, was dwarfed by those to the UAE. The $278 million of sales to Saudi Arabia – though up 12 percent on the February 2024 level – were still less than half that to the Emirates.

Turkish exports to Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman all fell in February, though the combined volume of sales valued at less than $60 million was only a tenth of that of shipments to the UAE. 

Behind the increase in Turkey’s exports to the GCC region and in particular to the UAE, according to Mehmet Ali Akarca, chair of the Foreign Economic Relations Board’s Turkey-United Arab Emirates Business Council, are the Gulf states’ efforts to develop industry, technology and renewable energy.

This transition opens many more export doors for Turkey beyond lines such as jewellery and gold that still dominate sales, Akarca told AGBI.

“The UAE’s policy of increasing investments in non-energy sectors opens up new markets for Turkish companies in these areas,” he said. 

Beyond direct exports, Turkey has also been courting the UAE as a business partner, said Akarca.

“Dubai and Abu Dhabi are located at the intersection of global trade routes, offering a significant logistics advantage,” he said. 

He cited the country’s modern ports, air cargo centres and free trade zones as helping to facilitate trade. The UAE is a major redistribution hub for re-exporters.

While the UAE’s growing appetite for products made in Turkey is being satisfied, the Gulf state’s access to the Turkish market has not been so easy. A number of planned deals have either been delayed or taken off the table entirely. 

In February, Abu Dhabi Ports withdrew from long-running negotiations to take over Alsancak port in the city of İzmir in Turkey’s Aegean region, after agreement could not be reached on valuation. 

There have also been delays in finalising the sale of subsidiaries of Getir, a high-profile Turkish startup grocery delivery service, to Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company.

Regulators only approved the asset transfer in mid-March, eight months after the deal was initially struck.

The acquisition by the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company of Odeabank, a small Turkish lender, has gone more smoothly.

Regulators approved the sale at the end of March, five months after it was announced, possibly flagging an improved investment climate to match the export trade. 

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