According to İKMİB Data, Exports of Hygiene Products on the Rise

Turkish hygiene product exports set record in first eight months of 2020, with disinfectants, cologne and soap shipments surging due to pandemic-driven demand. According to İKMİB data, disinfectant exports rose 815.75%, cologne exports 228.99%, and soap exports 43.65% in the January-August period this year. Commenting on the matter, Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB) Board Chairman Adil Pelister said, "We continue to break records in disinfectant, cologne and soap exports, which we can also call Covid-19 products. The strategic importance of our chemical sector, which contains many products that have come to the fore in the pandemic such as hygiene products, medical products, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, is becoming clearer with each passing day. As Turkey's second-largest exporting sector, we make an important contribution to our country's growth. Our share of our country's exports continues to increase year after year. Due to the pandemic, our companies continued to work at full capacity in hygiene products, which are the most needed, constantly producing and exporting.

Looking at the first eight months of this period, disinfectant exports, which stood at USD 24.2 million in the January-August 2019 period, rose to USD 222.4 million in the same period this year. Growth was 815.75% compared to the previous year. Disinfectant exports in August this year increased 365.78% compared to August last year, rising from USD 3 million to USD 14 million.

Our cologne exports rose 298.73% in August this year, reaching USD 1.93 million, while in the first eight months they increased 228.99% to reach USD 17.7 million. Meanwhile, our soap exports grew 64.80% in August this year compared to the previous year, reaching USD 45.5 million. Our soap exports for the first eight months increased 43.65% to USD 322 million.

In disinfectant exports, the United States received the most exports in August this year, followed by the United Kingdom and France. In the January-August period ranking of countries receiving the most exports, the United Kingdom ranked first with USD 34.4 million. The United States ranked second with USD 23.5 million and Germany third with USD 20.9 million.

In cologne exports, Iraq received the most exports in August this year, followed by Germany and Turkmenistan. In the January-August period, we exported cologne mainly to Germany (USD 4.8 million), the Netherlands (USD 2.2 million) and Saudi Arabia (USD 1.1 million). In soap exports, the top three countries in the January-August period this year were the United Kingdom (USD 35.7 million), Iraq (USD 32.6 million) and the United States (USD 28.1 million). In August, the United States, Iraq and the United Kingdom were the countries to which we exported the most," he said.