Turkey-Syria Trade Opportunities: Current Situation and Potentials

Turkey-Syria foreign trade volume, which stood at $250–300 million before 2011, has increased to approximately $2.5 billion by 2024. Turkey aims to increase this volume to $10 billion in the short to medium term. Central to this goal are customs regulations, mutual cooperation measures, and logistical facilities at border crossings.
With circular number 2025/4, published by the Ministry of Trade in early 2025, restrictions on Turkey’s exports and transit to Syria were lifted, effective December 8, 2024, and the import regime from Syria was normalized. This allows Turkey to treat Syrian trade as a third country in terms of customs and permits.
According to January 2024 data, Turkey exported approximately $161 million to the northern regions of Syria between January 1 and 25, and exports increased by 35.5% during this period, reaching $219 million. This indicator is a strong sign of a revival in trade.
According to 2023 data, Turkey’s exports to Syria were approximately $4.06 billion, while imports from Syria to Turkey during the same period stood at $1.08 billion. While this data clearly indicates that the direction of trade is in Turkey’s favor, the potential remains significant when considering Syria’s reconstruction process.

Before 2011, annual foreign trade volume was approximately $250–300 million, reaching $2.5–2.6 billion by 2024. The president of the Turkey-Syria Business Council announced a medium-term target of $10 billion. Institutions such as DEİK, the Ministry of Trade, and JETCO (Turkey-Syria Joint Economic and Trade Committee) have developed a comprehensive roadmap to achieve this goal, and negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have also been initiated. With Circular No. 2025/4 dated December 8, 2024, restrictions on export, import, and transit transactions between Turkey and Syria were largely lifted. Shipments from Turkey to Syria were equated with the conditions applied to other countries; only special regulations apply to metal scrap transit. However, in January 2025, the Syrian interim administration increased customs duties on 269 product groups by up to 300%, significantly impacting grain and oilseed exports. The Turkish government is taking active steps to address this problem through diplomatic and trade negotiations.
Turkey’s exports to Syria include iron and steel, plastic products, construction materials, household goods, food, and furniture; exports from Turkey in 2024 totaled approximately $2.2 billion. According to TİM data, grain and oilseed exports increased significantly by 73%, while electrical and electronic products increased by 32%, cement, glass, and ceramics by 61%, and textiles and raw materials by 74%. Furthermore, in December 2024, exports reached a record high of the last decade, reaching $233.7 million, a 20% increase on a monthly basis.
Prominent sectors in imports from Syria to Turkey include cotton, sunflower oil, olive oil, as well as foodstuffs such as starch, malt, and wheat gluten. In 2024, imports of milling products totaled ≈96.8 million USD and animal and vegetable oils ≈87 million USD. These items have the potential to be transformed into value-added production with packaging and processing capacity in Turkey.

It is estimated that the investment need for Syria’s reconstruction could exceed 400 billion USD. Significant opportunities arise for companies operating in Turkish construction, infrastructure, energy, and social facility projects. In particular, the transformation of İskenderun and Mersin ports into logistics hubs in the Middle East creates strategic advantages for Turkish companies.

With Circular 2025/4, transit transport was liberalized for all product groups except metal scrap. Numerous truck crossings through Turkey’s Syrian border crossings (Hatay Cilvegözü, Yayladağı, Zeytindalı) have accelerated; In the first 25 days of January 2024, exports rose from $161 million to $219 million, with approximately 35.5% of this increase being individually significant. The removal of buffer zones during transit processes will reduce logistics costs and time, paving the way for trade. Furthermore, Turkish banks are expanding their reach into the Syrian market, and corporate financing models are being developed with the coordination of DEİK (Foreign Economic Cooperation and Exploration Board).

Turkey-Syria trade relations have resumed their upward trend thanks to political normalization and economic regulations. By the end of 2024, foreign trade volume reached approximately $2.5-2.6 billion, while the medium-term target of $10 billion is becoming a concrete vision. Regulations in exports, imports, logistics, restructuring, transit trade, and finance demonstrate that the Turkish private sector, in particular, can maximize the benefits of this market. With smart policies and private sector motivation, this potential can be quickly realized.

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