Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has recently claimed that the northern part of Cyprus trades with over 100 countries. He made this statement in an effort to showcase how much the breakaway state has advanced.
The Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network (CIReN) conducted a fact-check on Tatar’s claim and issued its verdict.
The Claim
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on July 22, claimed that “TRNC trades with over 100 countries.”
Tatar was speaking with journalists in Istanbul during the promotion of a book titled “Love for Cyprus: Lives Spent in Pursuit of an Ideal Whose Flame Never Fades Out: Ersin Tatar,” which is a compilation of a series of interviews with him. “As Mr. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated, the TRNC will continue to be a Turkish state that shines bright in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Tatar said.
The claim was carried by the Turkish state news agency Anatolia and multiple other media outlets in Turkey and north Cyprus.
The Facts
The northern part of Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey. This blocks the breakaway state from signing any bilateral or multilateral trade agreements. Therefore it can only have economic and trade agreements with Turkey. Due to the political situation, direct trade between the Turkish Cypriot-administered areas and the rest of the world is also limited. Much of the exports to other countries have to go through Turkey.
According to the most recent official trade data, the northern part of Cyprus, had imports worth about USD 2.8 billion and exports worth about USD 176 million in 2023.
2023 trade figures (USD)
| Imports | 2.817.362.006 |
| Exports | 176.237.184 |
| Trade deficit | 2.641.124.822 |
According to the same data, the northern part of Cyprus imported goods from a total of 113 countries – 114 including Turkey – in 2023. However, 70 per cent of those imports were from Turkey.
| Import Countries | % |
| Turkey | 70 |
| European Union countries (including RoC) | 15 |
| Islamic countries | 4 |
| Far East | 3 |
| Other European countries | 1 |
| Others | 7 |
The same data shows that the northern part of Cyprus exported goods to a total of 39 countries including Turkey in 2023. However, 72 per cent of those exports were to Turkey. The main exports of north Cyprus are dairy products and citrus, which make up 60 percent of the total exports.
| Export Countries | % |
| Turkey | 72 |
| Islamic Countries | 14 |
| European Union countries (Includes RoC) | 11 |
| other countries | 2 |
| Other European countries | 1 |
The Verdict: Misleading
Although the way Tatar phrases this claim is technically true, the overall message he is trying to push is misleading. The northern part of Cyprus does have imports and exports from and to more than 100 countries, but the majority of this trade is by far with Turkey. The breakaway state has no official trade agreement with any country other than Turkey and the significant dependence on Turkey when it comes to trade shows that it has not been able to establish any other meaningful trade relations. Its main trading partner remains Turkey, supplying 70% of imports and absorbing around 72% of exports.
This project is supported by the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF). The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the authors and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.