Germany Ranks First in Chemical Exports

According to data from İKMİB, chemical exports in February declined by 5.51 percent compared to February 2017, reaching USD 1 billion 273 million. In the ranking of countries with the highest exports in February, Germany ranked first with a 21.12 percent increase compared to February 2017 and exports of USD 78 million 609 thousand. While Germany came to the fore in February chemical industry exports, Turkey's third-largest exporting sector, the sector's February exports totaled USD 1 billion 273 million.

Germany Received the Highest Exports in February

Germany was the country with the highest exports in February. Chemical exports to Germany were USD 64 million 904 thousand in February 2017, while in the same period this year they reached USD 78 million 609 thousand with a 21.12 percent increase. The other countries in the top ten following Germany in sector exports were Belgium, Iraq, Spain, Italy, the United States, the Netherlands, Iran, the United Kingdom and Russia.

Plastics and Plastic Products Maintain Top Position

In subsectors, plastics and plastic products exports continue to be the driving force of chemical exports. Plastics and plastic products, which recorded the highest exports in February, ranked first with exports of USD 461 million 374 thousand 949. Mineral fuels, oils and products ranked second with exports of USD 190 million 114 thousand 526, while rubber and rubber products ranked third with USD 117 million 486 thousand 977. Following rubber and rubber products, the other sectors in the top ten were 'inorganic chemicals', 'pharmaceutical products', 'soap and washing preparations', 'essential oils and cosmetics', 'paints, varnishes, inks and preparations', 'organic chemicals' and 'miscellaneous chemical substances'. Looking at the sector's two-month export performance, chemical industry exports in the January-February period reached USD 2 billion 629 million with a 1.89 percent increase. The countries with the highest exports during this period were Germany, Spain, Iraq, the Netherlands, Italy, Egypt, Iran, the United States, Greece and France. Murat Akyüz, Chairman of the Board of İKMİB, evaluating the chemical sector's February performance, stated: "Chemical sector exports reached USD 2 billion 629 million in the January-February period of 2018. After a long interval, Germany ranked first in sector exports this month. We export pharmaceutical products, plastics and plastic products, and rubber and rubber products from chemical subsectors to Germany. While Germany came to the fore this month, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands, which showed increases above 100 percent in value compared to the same period last year, are also drawing attention," he said.

January 2017 Chemical Sector Exports