Chemical Sector's Exports Exceed $12 Billion

Chemical Sector Exports Exceed USD 12 Billion According to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), Turkey's exports in May increased by 14% year-on-year to USD 21.7 billion. The chemical sector, which achieved USD 2.5 billion in exports in May, became the second largest exporting sector. The sector's exports for the first five months of this year reached USD 12.3 billion. The chemical sector accounted for 11.3% of the country's total exports in May. Adil Pelister, Chairman of the Board of İKMİB (Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association), commenting on the chemical sector's May export figures, stated: "Our sector achieved USD 2.5 billion in exports in May. Our exports for the first five months exceeded USD 12 billion. Our sector's exports over the last twelve months reached USD 32 billion with an increase of 8.8%. We are going through a difficult period marked by inflation and interest rate pressures along with global economic slowdown. With Germany's entry into recession, we have witnessed the extent of economic stagnation in EU countries. We expect this stagnation to give way to recovery in the coming period. Indeed, from leading indicators about foreign markets—the export climate index—and from leading economic indicators for our country—manufacturing capacity utilization rates and manufacturing PMI figures—we can see that a slight recovery has begun. In May, capacity utilization rates increased in both our sector and general manufacturing. The chemical sector's average capacity utilization rose above 78% in May, reaching the highest capacity utilization for the five-month period, while also showing an increase of 0.13 points compared to May of last year. These are certainly positive developments, but on the other hand, we have problems that we expect to be solved such as difficulties in accessing financing, inflation, and the balance of exchange rates and interest rates. We hope that new economic policies to be implemented in the new period will resolve these problems. As the chemical sector, we will continue working for stronger growth and exports," he said.

Plastics and plastic products saw the highest exports in May

In May, plastics and plastic products exports led chemical substances and products with USD 795.423 million. Mineral fuels and products ranked second with USD 497.952 million in exports, while inorganic chemicals exports ranked third with USD 271.212 million. Following inorganic chemicals, other sectors in the top ten were: essential oils, cosmetics and soap; rubber and rubber products; paints, varnishes, inks and preparations; pharmaceutical products; miscellaneous chemical substances; washing preparations; and organic chemicals. The top ten countries in May were Russia, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Romania, Iraq, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and Bulgaria. In the January-May period of 2023, the top ten countries for chemical exports were Russia, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Spain, Romania, Iraq, USA, United Kingdom and Lebanon.