Chemicals Ranked as Turkey's Second-Largest Export Sector in 2019

Turkchem 24 Sep 2019 65 2 dk okuma

TURKCHEM

According to data from the Istanbul Chemical Substance and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), the chemicals sector achieved exports of USD 1.63 billion in August with an increase of 18.77% compared to August 2018. Eight-month exports in the chemicals sector reached USD 13.4 billion with an increase of 18.83%. At a press conference on "August 2019 Export Figures" held in Sivas on the 100th anniversary of the Sivas Congress, İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister stated: "We continue consistently as the second-largest exporting sector in 2019. Our chemical exports in August reached USD 1.63 billion with an increase of 18.77%. Our sector's eight-month exports reached USD 13.4 billion with an increase of 18.83%. The Export Master Plan was announced by our Minister of Commerce Ruhsar Pekcan. In this important master plan that provides guidance for us exporters, we are one of five priority sectors.

In exports, which play an important role in Turkey's growth, our chemicals sector, which holds strategic importance, contributes significantly to this growth as the second-largest exporting sector.

To reduce our raw material dependency in the chemicals sector, we need to attract direct investors to our country in this field. We need to establish specialized free trade zones. We must design this new trend with a complete focus on digital transformation and be technologically highly advanced. In the new master plan, productivity, innovation and high technology stand out. As sector representatives, we support digital transformation. In line with our country's USD 200 billion export target for 2019, we continue our work at full pace at İKMİB to increase our chemicals sector's exports by 15% and raise it to USD 20 billion levels." he expressed his views. The Netherlands was the top export destination in August. Chemical exports to the Netherlands reached USD 166,149,000 in August 2019. In August, exports to the Netherlands included primarily "mineral fuels, mineral oils and products," "plastics and plastic articles," "inorganic chemicals," "essential oils, cosmetics and soap," "miscellaneous chemical substances," "rubber and rubber articles," and "organic chemicals." Eight-month chemical exports to the Netherlands this year reached USD 740,600,000. In the January-August 2019 period, the top ten destinations for chemical exports included the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Germany, Iraq, Egypt, Malta, the United States, Greece and the United Kingdom.