Turkey shipped US$142.6 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2016, up by 39.6% since 2009 when the Great Recession kicked in but down by -0.9% from 2015 to 2016.

Turkey’s top 10 exports accounted for 61% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, Turkey’s total Gross Domestic Product amounted to $1.670 trillion as of November 2016.

Therefore, exports accounted for about 8.5% of total Turkish economic output.

From a continental perspective, 54.8% of Turkish exports by value are delivered to European countries while 28.8% are sold to Asian importers. Turkey ships another 8% to Africa and 5.5% to North American customers.

Given Turkey’s population of 80.3 million people, its total $142.6 billion in 2016 exports translates to roughly $1,800 for every resident in that country.

Turkey’s unemployment rate was 8.5% as of October 2016 up down from 10.5% in November 2015, according to Trading Economics.

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Turkish global shipments during 2016. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Turkey.

1. Vehicles: US$19.8 billion (13.9% of total exports)
2. Machinery including computers: $12.4 billion (8.7%)
3. Gems, precious metals: $12.2 billion (8.5%)
4. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $8.9 billion (6.2%)
5. Electrical machinery, equipment: $7.8 billion (5.5%)
6. Iron, steel: $6.2 billion (4.3%)
7. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $5.9 billion (4.2%)
8. Plastics, plastic articles: $5 billion (3.5%)
9. Articles of iron or steel: $5 billion (3.5%)
10. Fruits, nuts: $3.9 billion (2.7%)

Led by international sales of gold and jewelry, gems and precious metals were the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories via its 105.4% increase during the 7-year period starting in 2009.

Far behind in second place was plastics with a 62.5% improvement.

Exported vehicles posted the third-fastest gain in value at 61.6%, followed by machinery including computers up 52.6%.

Only one top product category declined, iron and steel which dropped -19% from 2009 to 2016.

The following types of Turkish product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports is the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: US$8.1 billion (Up by 30.6% since 2009)
2. Gems, precious metals: $5 billion (Up by 26.7%)
3. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $4.2 billion (Up by 35%)
4. Fruits, nuts: $3.3 billion (Up by 23.9%)
5. Articles of iron or steel: $2 billion (Down by -34.3%)
6. Vehicles: $2 billion (Down by -40.2%)
7. Textile floor coverings: $1.8 billion (Up by 97.8%)
8. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $1.8 billion (Down by -4.7%)
9. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $1.8 billion (Up by 44.9%)
10. Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $1.7 billion (Up by 13.7%)

Turkey has highly positive net exports in the international trade of apparel. In turn, these cashflows indicate Turkey’s strong competitive advantages under the knit or crochet clothing product categories.

Below are exports from Turkey that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Turkey’s goods trail Turkish importer spending on foreign products. Overall, Turkey posted a -$56 billion deficit on all products for 2016 up 44.6% since 2009.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$23.9 billion (Down by -7.8% since 2009)
2. Machinery including computers: -$14.9 billion (Up by 65.6%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$12.4 billion (Up by 120.5%)
4. Plastics, plastic articles: -$6.6 billion (Up by 71.6%)
5. Iron, steel: -$6.4 billion (Up by 72.6%)
6. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$3.9 billion (Up by 56.8%)
7. Organic chemicals: -$3.9 billion (Up by 29.8%)
8. Aircraft, spacecraft: -$3.6 billion (Up by 370.4%)
9. Pharmaceuticals: -$3.4 billion (Down by -7.2%)
10. Copper: -$1.6 billion (Up by 15.9%)

Turkey has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels including oil–particularly processed oils, coal and petroleum gases.

These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Turkey’s competitive disadvantages in the international fossil fuel market, but also represent key opportunities for Turkey to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.