Hatay in figures: brief, sourced facts
Last checked: 8 October 2026. According to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), Hatay exported USD 2.71 billion in the first nine months of 2026; this is a 6.1 per cent increase on the same period of the previous year and places Hatay 11th among provinces. Hatay's exports for the whole of 2025 were USD 3.47 billion. TİM's provincial data is compiled by the province in which the exporting company has its registered head office (TİM, export tables by province, 30 September 2026 and 31 December 2025).
In the same nine months, USD 1.65 billion of Hatay's exports came from the steel sector and USD 374 million from fresh fruit and vegetables; chemicals (USD 98.8 million) and the automotive industry (USD 91.4 million) followed (TİM, Sector Figures by Province, 30 September 2026). This distribution is why, in factory software, we give priority to metal and pipe production, followed by packing and the automotive supply industry.
In 2025, 70.9 million tonnes of cargo were handled within the boundaries of the İskenderun Regional Harbour Master's Office, the third-highest figure in Türkiye after Aliağa and Kocaeli (statement by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Ekonomi Gazetesi, 1 February 2026). The harbour master's area of responsibility may not match the provincial boundary exactly.
In December 2024 the chair of the Antakya Organised Industrial Zone (OSB) said that around 3,500 people worked in the OSB and that the shortage of skilled workers was continuing (Ekonomi Gazetesi, 12 December 2024). What we take from this: when work instructions, machine settings and quality control steps are recorded in the system, the know-how of experienced staff stays in the business and new employees learn from the same records.
Under the Local Development Initiative Programme, local investment topics for each province are set by a communiqué of the Ministry of Industry and Technology (legal basis: Presidential Decision No. 9903, 2025). The list updated on 31 January 2026 includes four topics for Hatay: production of supply-industry products for the footwear sector; production of supply-industry products for the furniture sector; processing and production of advanced metal materials used in industry; and production and processing of fishery and aquaculture products (Official Gazette, 31 January 2026, issue 33154). Whether a business can benefit from this support is decided by the relevant institution.
Since 2017 Hatay has been a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Gastronomy (Anadolu Agency, 1 November 2017). We prepare our recommendations for restaurants, künefe shops and accommodation businesses with this identity in mind.
The Kahramanmaraş-centred earthquakes of 6 February 2023 deeply affected Hatay; official assessments are set out in the reports of the Presidency of Strategy and Budget. As of February 2026, traders from Antakya's historic Long Bazaar (Uzun Çarşı) were working in a temporary prefabricated bazaar while the bazaar was being rebuilt (TRT Haber/AA, 4 February 2026).
Sources: TİM, Figures by Province and Sector Figures by Province (tables dated 30 September 2026 and 31 December 2025); Ekonomi Gazetesi, 1 February 2026 (statement by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure); Ekonomi Gazetesi, 12 December 2024; Official Gazette, 31 January 2026, issue 33154 (Communiqué Amending the Communiqué on the List of Local Investment Topics, Annex 1); Anadolu Agency, 1 November 2017; TRT Haber/AA, 4 February 2026; Presidency of Strategy and Budget, 2023 Kahramanmaraş and Hatay Earthquakes Report (17 March 2023) and Kahramanmaraş and Hatay Earthquakes Reconstruction and Development Report (3 February 2026). The data in this section is rechecked every three months.