14.03.2026 15:02
At the iftar program of the International Transporters Association, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat stated that a draft agreement has been sent for the opening of a new customs gate between Turkey and Bulgaria, saying, "We will open another customs gate just north of Kapıkule. This is very important for our transports to Europe. It will also enable new commercial transports. Thus, the congestion at Kapıkule, Hamzabeyli, and İpsala will be alleviated."
The meeting evaluating the 2025 transportation statistics organized by the International Transporters Association (UND) was held with the participation of Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat and Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Durmuş Ünüvar. In his speech here, Minister Ömer Bolat stated that they work in coordination on transportation issues as the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Transport, and he mentioned that UND is one of the key players in this field.
"OUR LOGISTICS SECTOR HAS A MARKET SIZE OF ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS IN THE TURKISH ECONOMY"
Minister Bolat said, "We are very pleased to see a rapidly developing logistics sector. The market size in the Turkish economy is at the level of one hundred billion dollars. It has slightly exceeded that. In this sense, Turkey also has a significant export in the global logistics sector. Last year, our logistics exports amounted to 42 billion 400 million dollars. This constitutes 35% of our 122.5 billion dollars in service exports. This is a significant figure. Thus, I would like to thank all sector stakeholders engaged in the industry in your presence. Together, we are striving to grow Turkey's service exports and to elevate our country's external balance to better points," he said.
"TURKEY RANKS TENTH IN THE WORLD WITH A 2.8% SHARE IN LOGISTICS EXPORTS"
Minister Bolat stated, "Turkey ranks tenth in the world with a 2.8% share in logistics exports. This is a significant achievement. There is also a logistics performance index. We observe a noticeable improvement and development in Turkey's performance. In 2018, our country was ranked 47th with a score of 3.15, and in 2023, it rose to 38th place with a score of 3.43. Significant improvements have been made in areas such as customs processes, infrastructure quality, logistics competence, and fast delivery. Here, reducing emissions from transport and logistics, digitalization, and optimizing logistics processes through modern customs practices are among the strategic goals of our Ministry of Trade," he said.
Bolat added, "The increase in conveniences at customs positively affects the performance of our transporters and the ease of customs-related services. With applications such as the E-TIR system, the new computerized transit system NCTS, and the single window application electronic document exchange mechanism, we facilitate and accelerate trade, contributing to the speeding up of our transporters' timelines and increasing their efficiency. Especially the new computerized transit system, known as NCTS, helps to conduct international transit trade reliably, transparently, and quickly. As you may recall, on Sunday, November 17, 2024, we transitioned to phase five of the new version of NCTS. Now, we must transition to phase six this year. Due to our obligations with the European Union, our Ministry of Trade is also working rapidly on this matter," he said.
"OUR COUNTRY HAS INCREASED MOVING TRANSPORT BY 65% IN TWELVE YEARS"
Minister Bolat stated, "In the context of national and common transit, our country has increased moving transport by 65% between the years 2013 and 2025. It has risen from 1.5 million to 2.5 million annually. Our peaceful transports also showed an 86% increase during this period, rising from 1.2 million to 2.2 million. Our country joined the international agreement on the freedom of transport, established under the auspices of the United Nations in 1929, in 1966. This was an important milestone. Thanks to this, both second transports and international transit transports have made significant progress in the Turkish logistics sector," he said.