According to data from the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), chemical sector exports reached USD 1.6 billion in November 2020. During the January-November period of this year, USD 16.5 billion worth of chemical substances and products were exported. The chemical sector became the second-largest exporting sector during the eleven-month period despite the pandemic.
Commenting on the chemical sector's November export figures,
Adil Pelister, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), stated: "Our chemical sector exports for November this year reached USD 1.6 billion with a 9.6 percent decline, placing us second after the automotive sector.
Among sectors exporting chemical substances and products to 208 countries and regions, we ranked first in November in terms of the highest number of export destinations. The top three countries to which we exported the most chemicals in November were the Netherlands, Iraq, and Germany.
Our sector's eleven-month exports this year reached USD 16.5 billion. As a strategic sector providing raw materials and semi-finished products to 27 sectors, we continue production and export to be affected minimally by the pandemic.
During this period, we observe the impact on our sector exports from the decline in mineral fuels exports due to market contraction in the global market, particularly among EU countries which are among our largest export destinations, as well as the effects of measures taken due to the pandemic.
Indeed, our market diversity and the fact that we serve all sectors demonstrates that our performance is better than other sectors. Despite everything, we succeeded in maintaining our position as Turkey's second-largest exporting sector during the eleven-month period," he said.
The Netherlands was the country with the highest exports in November
The Netherlands was the country with the most exports in November. Other countries in the top ten following the Netherlands in November were Iraq, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Romania, Israel, Greece, and Spain. In November, six countries among the top 10 showed increases while four showed declines. The increases in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Romania stand out.
Chemical exports to the Netherlands reached USD 107,121,000 in November 2020. In November, the most exported items to the Netherlands were "mineral fuels, mineral oils and products," "plastics and products," "essential oils, cosmetics and soap," "inorganic chemicals," and "rubber and rubber articles."
Six of the top 10 countries saw increased chemical exports during the January-November period
The countries to which the most chemicals were exported during the January-November eleven-month period of 2020 were, in order, Iraq, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, Romania, Israel, and Belgium in the top ten. During the same period, among these top 10 countries, chemical exports to six countries increased except for Iraq, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain.
During the first eleven months of this year, the largest export increase among the top 10 countries was 17.89 percent to the United Kingdom, while among the top 20 countries, the largest export increase was 25.80 percent to Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan.
In November, exports of "plastics and products" were the largest
In November, exports of
plastics and products ranked first in chemical substances and products exports with USD 581,307,884.
Second place was held by
mineral fuels, mineral oils and products with USD 239,738,964 in exports, while
inorganic chemicals exports ranked
third with USD 143,890,416. Following "Inorganic chemicals," other sectors in the top ten were "essential oils, cosmetics and soap," "rubber and rubber articles," "pharmaceutical products," "paints, varnishes, inks and preparations," "miscellaneous chemical substances," "organic chemicals," and "washing preparations."
In November, the largest export increase among subsectors was 74.30 percent in the organic chemicals sector, while the largest contraction was 55.33 percent in
mineral fuels, mineral oils and products sector.
Diagnostic kits had the highest exports among Covid-19 products
Covid-19 exports including disinfectants, cologne, medicines, soap, and diagnostic kits in the chemical substances and products sector showed a 68.73 percent increase compared to November of last year, reaching USD 35.9 million in November.
Among Covid-19 products exported in November this year, diagnostic kit exports ranked first with USD 15,320,000 with a 317.97 percent increase, disinfectant exports ranked second with USD 11,989,000 with a 15.34 percent increase, soap exports ranked third with USD 4,305,000 with a 13.86 percent decline, cologne exports ranked fourth with USD 2,888,000 with a 195.12 percent increase, and pharmaceutical exports ranked fifth with USD 1,484,000 with a 14.91 percent increase.
In November, the top three countries for diagnostic kit exports were Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan, Austria, and Germany, while for disinfectant exports they were the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and the United States; for soap exports, Libya, Iraq, and Bangladesh; for cologne exports, Germany, Iraq, and the Netherlands; and for pharmaceutical exports, Italy, Morocco, and Canada.
During the January-November period of this year, Covid-19 products exports in the chemical substances and products sector increased 62.26 percent, reaching USD 294,579,000. During the eleven-month period, diagnostic kit exports were the highest at USD 104.5 million, while the largest export increase was 218.32 percent in cologne.
2020 monthly chemical exports
| MONTH |
2019 VALUE ($) |
2020 VALUE ($) |
CHANGE (%) |
| January |
1,540,769,133.16 |
1,683,228,353.39 |
9.25% |
| February |
1,647,497,384.81 |
1,493,632,219.47 |
-9.34% |
| March |
1,845,022,354.08 |
1,492,006,732.92 |
-19.13% |
| April |
1,774,308,474.20 |
1,270,931,831.53 |
-28.37% |
| May |
1,936,716,985.11 |
1,178,061,085.79 |
-39.17% |
| June |
1,297,575,601.09 |
1,428,522,785.03 |
10.09% |
| July |
1,737,956,342.99 |
1,583,068,051.37 |
-8.91% |
| August |
1,631,567,009.79 |
1,376,421,531.44 |
-15.64% |
| September |
1,657,437,810.78 |
1,635,438,538.09 |
-1.33% |
| October |
1,939,715,254.77 |
1,728,740,523.79 |
-10.88% |
| November |
1,816,909,871.17 |
1,641,996,679.58 |
-9.63% |
| TOTAL |
18,825,476,222 |
16,512,048,332 |
-12.29% |
Top chemical exporting countries in November 2020
| NO. |
Country |
NOVEMBER 2019 VALUE ($) |
NOVEMBER 2020 VALUE ($) |
CHANGE VALUE (%) |
| 1 |
NETHERLANDS |
109,116,440 |
107,121,243 |
-1.83% |
| 2 |
IRAQ |
96,766,502 |
96,807,069 |
0.04% |
| 3 |
GERMANY |
72,168,106 |
84,669,864 |
17.32% |
| 4 |
UNITED STATES |
41,052,462 |
80,872,980 |
97% |
| 5 |
UNITED KINGDOM |
48,437,956 |
68,570,925 |
41.56% |
| 6 |
ITALY |
64,635,332 |
58,336,838 |
-9.74% |
| 7 |
ROMANIA |
38,827,227 |
44,944,293 |
15.75% |
| 8 |
ISRAEL |
41,822,954 |
44,506,201 |
6.42% |
| 9 |
GREECE |
57,092,398 |
41,393,539 |
-27.5% |
| 10 |
SPAIN |
109,028,232 |
40,157,873 |
-63.17% |
Chemical sector subsectors in November 2020
| |
|
|
2019-2020 |
| |
NOVEMBER 2019 |
NOVEMBER 2020 |
% CHANGE |
| PRODUCT GROUP |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE |
| PLASTICS AND PRODUCTS |
511,877,147 |
581,307,884 |
13.56% |
| MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS |
536,671,751 |
239,738,964 |
-55.33% |
| INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
176,549,454 |
143,890,416 |
-18.50% |
| ESSENTIAL OILS, COSMETICS AND SOAP |
112,831,290 |
127,727,819 |
13.20% |
| RUBBER AND RUBBER ARTICLES |
108,775,885 |
113,520,230 |
4.36% |
| PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS |
106,139,477 |
107,213,031 |
1.01% |
| PAINTS, VARNISHES, INKS AND PREPARATIONS |
75,908,577 |
87,364,355 |
15.09% |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES |
52,662,718 |
77,600,084 |
47.35% |
| ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
34,306,674 |
59,797,784 |
74.30% |
| WASHING PREPARATIONS |
48,325,986 |
45,718,208 |
-5.40% |
| FERTILIZERS |
30,442,974 |
32,764,257 |
7.63% |
| ADHESIVES, GLUES, ENZYMES |
20,567,203 |
22,599,447 |
9.88% |
| GUNPOWDER, EXPLOSIVE SUBSTANCES AND DERIVATIVES |
772,773 |
1,372,368 |
77.59% |
| PRODUCTS USED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMATOGRAPHY |
1,007,238 |
1,327,829 |
31.83% |
| GLYCERIN, VEGETABLE PRODUCTS, DEGRADATION PRODUCTS, OILY SUBSTANCES |
56,642 |
43,391 |
-23.39% |
| PROCESSED ASBESTOS AND MIXTURES, PRODUCTS |
14,082 |
10,612 |
-24.65% |
| TOTAL |
1,816,909,871 |
1,641,996,680 |
-9.63% |
Covid-19 products exports in the chemical sector in November 2020
| |
|
|
2019-2020 |
| |
NOVEMBER 2019 |
NOVEMBER 2020 |
% CHANGE |
| PRODUCT |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE |
| DIAGNOSTIC KITS |
3,665,357.48 |
15,320,139.42 |
317.97% |
| DISINFECTANT |
10,394,945.46 |
11,989,758.03 |
15.34% |
| SOAP |
4,998,411.09 |
4,305,409.35 |
-13.86% |
| COLOGNE |
978,901.98 |
2,888,892.48 |
195.12% |
| PHARMACEUTICAL |
1,291,530.49 |
1,484,093.51 |
14.91% |
| TOTAL |
21,329,146.50 |
35,988,292.79 |
68.73% |
Disinfectant exports in November 2020
| Rank |
Country |
November 2019 |
November 2020 |
2019-2020 CHANGE |
| VALUE ($) |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE (%) |
| 1 |
UNITED KINGDOM |
1,053,693.86 |
1,041,249.63 |
-1.18 |
| 2 |
INDONESIA |
|
1,009,603.58 |
|
| 3 |
UNITED STATES |
147,528.63 |
983,034.93 |
566.34 |
| 4 |
CZECHIA |
1,622,001.34 |
774,450.86 |
-52.25 |
| 5 |
ROMANIA |
341,740.77 |
511,207.53 |
49.59 |
| 6 |
EGYPT |
32,995.39 |
461,555.59 |
1,298.85 |
| 7 |
IRAQ |
292,559.08 |
458,507.57 |
56.72 |
| 8 |
BELARUS |
233,242.19 |
439,341.48 |
88.36 |
| 9 |
TURKMENISTAN |
68,236.60 |
340,375.60 |
398.82 |
| 10 |
GERMANY |
503,348.44 |
338,880.48 |
-32.67 |
| |
Covid-19 Products Disinfectant Total: |
10,394,945.46 |
11,989,758.03 |
15.34 |
