Export shipping from Turkey. Turkey's capabilities for organizing cargo transportation

Import shipping to Turkey

Turkey is a country located in both Southeastern Europe and Western Asia. The country is still considered developing, but in terms of economic power, it is a regional leader. The abundance of young skilled labor, low wage levels, and advantageous geographical location have attracted massive foreign investments, which have actually created the modern Turkish economy. The Turkish economy is export-oriented, and a corresponding transport system has been established for its functioning.

Transport in Turkey

Turkey aims to take its place among developed countries and is creating a transport structure used, in particular, for international cargo transportation. All types of modern transport are represented in Turkey. The country has created infrastructure for air, road, rail, and water transport, which ensures not only import and export but also the distribution of cargo across the country.

Turkey has land borders with Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. The shores of Turkey are washed by the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Seas. Turkey controls the Bosporus Strait, which connects the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The geographical position of Turkey makes it an important transport hub for both Europe and Asia.

Cargo transportation on Turkish roads

The total length of Turkey's road network is almost 427,000 km. However, only 177.5 thousand km of roads have a solid surface for cargo transportation. This already indicates that it is difficult to call the condition of Turkish roads ideal. However, neither tourists nor drivers from the CIS countries report poor road conditions in Turkey; accordingly, the condition of Turkish roads is good on major cargo and transport routes. The country has built 2,170 km of highways, which are often referred to as autobahns.

Traveling on Turkey's highways is subject to tolls. The cost of using the highways depends on the type of vehicle and the distance traveled on the highway. Additionally, there is a toll for crossing two bridges over the Bosporus between Europe and Asia. Moreover, the fee is charged only when the vehicle is traveling from Europe to Asia.

Air transport in Turkey

For cargo transportation by air, the creation of expensive infrastructure in the form of airports is required. Turkey has created such infrastructure. The country has 98 airports, 91 of which have paved runways. 70 of these airports have runways longer than 1,523 m, which allows for the reception of modern passenger and cargo aircraft.

The cities that host the largest Turkish international airports are:

• Istanbul. The city has 2 international airports.
• Ankara.
• Dalaman.
• Izmir.
• Bodrum.

Cargo transportation by water transport

There are 1,200 km of navigable waterways in Turkey for vessels with a deadweight of over 500 tons. These routes are used for both passenger and cargo transportation. However, of course, the main flow of cargo is sent and received by the cheapest maritime transport. The most cargo is processed in the ports located in:

• Aliaga.
• Ambarli.
• Diliskelesi.
• Eregli.
• Izmir.
• Izmit.
• Istanbul.
• Limani.
• Yarimca.

Turkish railways

Turkey has 12,008 kilometers of railway tracks. 3,216 km of them are electrified. The gauge of the railway tracks corresponds to the European standard — 1,435 mm.

Structure of Turkey's exports

The main export goods of Turkey are cars, including trucks, spare parts for vehicles, jewelry, textiles, cosmetics, gold, and petroleum products.