Turkish exports to Tunisia increased by 9.9% to $720.4 million during the first seven months of 2026, with fabrics and other textile inputs remaining an important part of a trade relationship connecting two major regional textile industries.
Türkiye’s export expansion across Africa continued at a double-digit pace during the first seven months of 2026, supported by increasing shipments to North African markets, including Tunisia.
According to Turkish Exporters Assembly data reported by Anadolu Agency, Türkiye’s exports to Africa reached $13.3 billion between January and July, representing an increase of 12.6% compared with the corresponding period of 2025.
Exports to Tunisia rose by 9.9% to $720.4 million during the same period, highlighting the country’s growing importance within Türkiye’s African trade strategy.
The composition of this trade is particularly relevant to the textile industry. Türkiye is supplying significant volumes of textile materials to Tunisia, despite the North African country having a well-established textile and apparel manufacturing sector of its own.
Turkish Fabrics Support Tunisia’s Apparel Value Chain
In 2024, Türkiye’s leading exports to Tunisia included heavy pure woven cotton valued at $76.5 million and other knitted or crocheted fabrics worth $38.8 million. Passenger vehicles, valued at $53.2 million, were another major export category, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
At first glance, exporting fabrics to a country with an established textile industry may appear counterintuitive. However, Tunisia’s garment manufacturing model depends partly on imported fabrics and other intermediate materials that are processed locally and subsequently exported as finished apparel.
Turkish fabrics can therefore function as production inputs for Tunisian manufacturers rather than simply competing with locally manufactured products.
This relationship demonstrates how textile trade increasingly operates through interconnected regional value chains. One country may manufacture fabrics, another may specialise in garment assembly and finishing, while the completed products are supplied to European or other international markets.
Read more: Turkish Investor Highlights Tunisia’s Role as Gateway to European and African Markets
Tunisia Remains an Important Textile Manufacturing Centre
Textiles and apparel remain central to Tunisia’s industrial economy. The sector has developed over several decades around the country’s proximity to Europe, competitive manufacturing capabilities and commercial relationships with French, Italian and other international fashion companies.
Tunisia’s Export Promotion Centre says textiles and apparel account for approximately 16% of the country’s industrial exports, confirming the industry’s continued importance to its manufacturing and foreign-trade structure.
Türkiye, meanwhile, possesses a highly developed upstream textile industry covering yarn, woven and knitted fabrics, denim, home textiles and technical textiles. This makes Turkish manufacturers potential suppliers to Tunisian apparel factories seeking diversified sourcing, shorter delivery times and access to specialised materials.
Bilateral Trade Remains Uneven
Türkiye recorded exports of approximately $1.23 billion to Tunisia in 2024 while importing around $356 million, producing a Turkish trade surplus of roughly $879 million, according to OEC data.
Tunisia’s exports to Türkiye during that year included crude petroleum, mixed fertilisers and electrical control equipment, illustrating the different composition of the two countries’ trade portfolios.
The imbalance is significant because Tunisia is already managing a wider external trade deficit. The country’s cumulative merchandise trade deficit reached TND14.96 billion during the first seven months of 2026, according to Tunisia’s National Institute of Statistics.
The institute also reported that Tunisian imports from Türkiye increased by 10% during the period. The largest components of Tunisia’s overall deficit were energy, raw materials and semi-finished products, capital equipment and consumer goods.
Free Trade Agreement Shapes Commercial Relations
Türkiye and Tunisia have traded under a bilateral free trade framework since 2005. The agreement was signed in November 2004 and subsequently entered into force, introducing the progressive liberalisation of bilateral trade in industrial products.
The arrangement has supported commercial growth, but Tunisian manufacturers have also raised concerns over the trade imbalance and competition from Turkish products.
For Tunisia’s textile industry, the effect cannot be assessed solely through import values. Imported Turkish fabrics may compete with domestic textile mills in some product categories while simultaneously supporting garment factories that require specific materials for export production.
The industrial impact therefore depends on what is being imported, where it enters the value chain and whether the resulting finished products are consumed domestically or exported.
Detailed 2026 Product Data Still Needed
The headline figures confirm that Türkiye’s exports to Tunisia and the wider African market are increasing. However, a detailed product-level breakdown for the first seven months of 2026 is needed to determine what is driving the growth.
If the increase is concentrated in yarns, fabrics, machinery and other production inputs, it could indicate deeper industrial integration between Turkish suppliers and Tunisian manufacturers. If consumer goods account for most of the expansion, the implications for Tunisia’s domestic producers would be different.
Read more: Tunisia Unveils Textile Strategy to Boost Competitiveness by 2036
For now, the direction is clear: Türkiye is strengthening its commercial presence in Africa, while Tunisia is emerging as both a destination for Turkish textile products and a manufacturing partner within regional apparel supply chains.
