According to the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), chemical sector exports in June 2020 reached USD 1.42 billion, up 10.17% year-on-year. Turkey's chemical sector, the country's second-largest exporting sector, achieved USD 8.64 billion in half-year exports. The top three destinations for chemical exports in June were Iraq, Netherlands and Germany.
Assessing June chemical sector export figures, İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister said, "
Chemistry sector continues to add value to our country as the second-largest exporting sector this month as well. In June, our chemical sector achieved USD 1 billion 429 million in exports with approximately 10.2% growth. A 21.26% increase was recorded compared to the previous month. The start of what we call the new normal as of June was an important factor in this growth. Our sector's six-month exports reached USD 8 billion 642 million.
We managed to be the second sector over the six-month period. Among the sub-product groups of our sector, plastics and plastic products, mineral fuels, mineral oils and products, and inorganic chemicals were most exported in June. The largest increase in June was recorded in our miscellaneous chemical substances group with a 119.63% rise.
In the ranking of countries to which we exported the most chemicals in June, Iraq ranked first with USD 89.3 million, while Netherlands, Germany, USA, UK, Iran, Romania, Israel, France and Italy were in the top ten.
In June, our sector's exports to the UK drew attention with a 102.28% increase. We hope this growth will continue in the coming months," he said.
Pelister, noting that both export data and capacity utilization rates as well as leading indicators such as manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) are moving in a positive direction, indicating our economy is beginning to recover, said, "One of the most important issues for our exporting companies is to continue production and exports while preserving employment.
To achieve this, the support provided by our government to exporting companies is very important. The extension of the Short-Time Working Allowance by one month is also of great significance from this perspective. Additionally, our Minister of Commerce announced that Eximbank provided EUR 380 million in credit. This new source has also been an important development in terms of our exporters' access to financing.
On the other hand, our Turkish Exporters Council (TİM) Chairman had also announced a USD 500 million credit support package made available to our exporters through an agreement with İş Bank. All these developments give us exporters hope for the future.
If we are not exposed to a second wave, I believe we will be able to close the year under these conditions with figures matching last year's numbers," he said.
Iraq was the country with the highest exports in June
Iraq was the country with the highest exports in June. Other countries in the top ten following Iraq in June were Netherlands, Germany, USA, UK, Iran, Romania, Israel, France and Italy.
Chemical exports to Iraq in June 2020 reached USD 89 million 333 thousand. The most exported items to Iraq in June were "plastics and plastic products", "essential oils, cosmetics and soap", "washing preparations", "pharmaceutical products", "miscellaneous chemical substances", "paints, varnishes, inks and preparations", "fertilizers", "mineral fuels, mineral oils and products", "adhesives, glues, enzymes" and "inorganic chemicals".
In the six-month period of January-June 2020, the top ten countries receiving the most chemical exports were Netherlands, Germany, Iraq, Italy, USA, UK, Spain, Israel, Romania and Egypt respectively.
In June, the largest exports were in "plastics and plastic products"
In June, plastic products and plastic articles exports reached USD 535 million 369 thousand 114, ranking first in chemical exports among chemical substances and products. Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products ranked second with USD 160 million 862 thousand 582 in exports, while inorganic chemicals ranked third with USD 125 million 499 thousand 33. Other sectors in the top ten following inorganic chemicals were 'essential oils, cosmetics and soap', 'pharmaceutical products', 'miscellaneous chemical substances', 'rubber and rubber articles', 'paints, varnishes, inks and preparations', 'washing preparations' and 'organic chemicals'.
2020 monthly chemical exports
| MONTH |
2019 VALUE ($) |
2020 VALUE ($) |
DIFFERENCE (%) |
| January |
1,541,011,066.76 |
1,689,149,523.67 |
9.61% |
| February |
1,646,217,599.10 |
1,512,623,053.16 |
-8.12% |
| March |
1,844,933,116.99 |
1,549,066,464.21 |
-16.04% |
| April |
1,773,916,537.53 |
1,282,978,589.27 |
-27.68% |
| May |
1,938,380,648.97 |
1,179,015,832.42 |
-39.18% |
| June |
1,297,647,558.94 |
1,429,636,596.25 |
10.17% |
| TOTAL |
10,042,106,528 |
8,642,470,059 |
-13.94% |
Countries with the highest chemical exports in June 2020
| NO. |
Country |
JUNE 2019 VALUE ($) |
JUNE 2020 VALUE ($) |
CHANGE VALUE (%) |
| 1 |
IRAQ |
59,409,005.40 |
89,333,237.53 |
50.37% |
| 2 |
NETHERLANDS |
112,674,524.35 |
74,275,715.73 |
-34.08% |
| 3 |
GERMANY |
58,486,815.71 |
73,131,815.41 |
25.04% |
| 4 |
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA |
65,474,392.11 |
62,458,267.37 |
-4.61% |
| 5 |
UNITED KINGDOM |
30,274,989.67 |
61,191,304.43 |
102.12% |
| 6 |
IRAN |
35,869,706.74 |
43,938,006.20 |
22.49% |
| 7 |
ROMANIA |
33,179,000.45 |
42,226,414.94 |
27.27% |
| 8 |
ISRAEL |
24,256,106.47 |
40,620,278.32 |
67.46% |
| 9 |
FRANCE |
27,681,365.67 |
39,896,478.30 |
44.13% |
| 10 |
ITALY |
49,790,785.02 |
39,567,072.94 |
-20.53% |
Sub-sectors in chemical sector exports in June 2020
| |
|
|
2019-2020 |
| |
JUNE 2019 |
JUNE 2020 |
% DIFFERENCE |
| PRODUCT GROUP |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE |
| PLASTICS AND PLASTIC PRODUCTS |
381,252,881 |
535,369,114 |
40.42% |
| MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS |
383,772,785 |
160,862,582 |
-58.08% |
| INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
113,493,122 |
125,499,033 |
10.58% |
| ESSENTIAL OILS, COSMETICS AND SOAP |
67,272,903 |
119,068,904 |
76.99% |
| PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS |
69,519,102 |
109,526,944 |
57.55% |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES |
43,853,158 |
96,312,665 |
119.63% |
| RUBBER AND RUBBER ARTICLES |
79,613,456 |
88,712,291 |
11.43% |
| PAINTS, VARNISHES, INKS AND PREPARATIONS |
56,354,047 |
67,512,593 |
19.80% |
| WASHING PREPARATIONS |
29,824,892 |
52,532,781 |
76.14% |
| ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
41,691,784 |
28,905,788 |
-30.67% |
| ADHESIVES, GLUES, ENZYMES |
12,598,463 |
21,795,783 |
73.00% |
| FERTILIZERS |
16,725,661 |
21,505,263 |
28.58% |
| GUNPOWDER, EXPLOSIVES AND DERIVATIVES |
718,125 |
1,132,618 |
57.72% |
| PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CINEMATOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS |
813,076 |
743,211 |
-8.59% |
| GLYCERIN, VEGETABLE PRODUCTS, DEGRA, FATTY SUBSTANCES |
121,355 |
152,612 |
25.76% |
| PROCESSED ASBESTOS AND MIXTURES, PRODUCTS |
22,747 |
4,413 |
-80.60% |
| TOTAL |
1,297,647,559 |
1,429,636,596 |
10.17% |
