According to data from the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), chemical sector exports reached USD 1.7 billion in October 2020. The sector achieved USD 14.8 billion in chemical substances and products exports during the first ten months of this year. In October, the chemical sector ranked first among sectors with the most exports to countries and regions, exporting to 207 countries and regions.
Commenting on chemical sector export figures,
İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister stated: "We are going through a period marked by global change and transformation, and we have experienced extraordinary situations such as the pandemic and earthquakes. We are working with all our strength to ensure that our country and sector are minimally affected by all these negative developments and remain standing strong.
In this direction, chemical sector exports in October of this year reached USD 1.7 billion. This represents an increase of over 5 percent compared to September. With exports of chemical substances and products to 207 countries and regions in October, we became the sector with the most exports to countries and regions. Particularly among sectors exporting to the most countries and regions, our sector generally ranks first not only in October but also in previous months and other months.
As the chemical sector that supplies raw materials and semi-finished products to all other sectors with its 16 subsectors, we value market diversification. Our ten-month sector exports exceeded USD 14.8 billion. As İKMİB, we took pioneering steps during the pandemic by shifting all our activities to digital platforms. In this way, we connected our exporters with potential buyers. We continue our work to establish the İKMİB Chemistry Technology Center, which we have identified as a necessity for the chemical sector, featuring accredited subsectoral laboratories, digital libraries, and sectoral start-up centers.
We repeatedly emphasize the need for new investments in the chemical sector, particularly in petrochemicals and the pharmaceutical sector. We have launched a study as İKMİB on this matter. We are conducting research on the production of chemicals, raw materials, or semi-finished products that are imported at amounts of USD 50 million and above but are not produced or are produced very little in Turkey. We aim for this research to serve as a guide for those wishing to invest. We believe it will contribute to increased exports from our sector and country and to closing the current account deficit" he said.
Iraq was the leading export destination in October
Iraq was the top export destination in October. Other countries in the top ten following Iraq in October were Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, Spain, and Romania. In October, five of the top 10 countries showed increases while five showed declines. Growth to Spain, the United Kingdom, and Germany stands out.
Chemical exports to Iraq reached USD 102,567,633 in October 2020. The most exported items to Iraq in October were plastics and articles thereof, essential oils, cosmetics and soaps, paints, varnishes, inks and preparations, washing preparations, miscellaneous chemical substances, pharmaceutical products, fertilizers, mineral fuels, mineral oils and products, adhesives, glues and enzymes, and inorganic chemicals.
Six of the top 10 countries saw increased chemical exports during January-October
During the ten-month period of January-October 2020, the countries receiving the most chemical exports were Iraq, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, Romania, Israel, and Belgium, ranking in the top ten. During the same period, among these top 10 countries, six countries besides Iraq, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain saw increases in chemical exports.
During the first ten months of this year, the highest export growth among the top 10 countries was 15.50% to the United Kingdom, while the highest export growth among the top 20 countries was 26.16% to Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan.
[caption id="attachment_108998" align="aligncenter"] İKMİB Adil Pelister[/caption]
Plastics and articles thereof saw the highest exports in October
In October, plastics and articles thereof ranked first in chemical exports with USD 594,027,119. Second was mineral fuels, mineral oils and products with USD 298,767,763, while inorganic chemicals ranked third with USD 144,941,171. Following inorganic chemicals, the other sectors in the top ten were essential oils, cosmetics and soaps, rubber and rubber articles, pharmaceutical products, paints, varnishes, inks and preparations, miscellaneous chemical substances, organic chemicals, and washing preparations.
In October, the highest growth in subsectors was 39.21% in miscellaneous chemical substances, while the largest contraction was 51.58% in mineral fuels, mineral oils and products.
Monthly chemical exports in 2020
| MONTH |
2019 VALUE ($) |
2020 VALUE ($) |
DIFFERENCE (%) |
| January |
1,540,769,133.16 |
1,683,232,212.43 |
9.25% |
| February |
1,647,497,384.81 |
1,493,629,150.65 |
-9.34% |
| March |
1,845,022,354.08 |
1,492,006,732.92 |
-19.13% |
| April |
1,774,308,474.20 |
1,270,955,683.64 |
-28.37% |
| May |
1,936,716,985.11 |
1,177,244,938.04 |
-39.21% |
| June |
1,297,575,601.09 |
1,427,106,441.79 |
9.98% |
| July |
1,737,956,342.99 |
1,583,090,324.28 |
-8.91% |
| August |
1,631,567,009.79 |
1,376,487,252.56 |
-15.63% |
| September |
1,657,437,810.78 |
1,635,724,272.21 |
-1.31% |
| October |
1,939,715,254.77 |
1,731,023,101.42 |
-10.76% |
| TOTAL |
17,008,566,351 |
14,870,500,110 |
-12.57% |
Leading chemical export destinations in October 2020
| NO. |
Country |
OCTOBER 2019 VALUE ($) |
OCTOBER 2020 VALUE ($) |
CHANGE VALUE (%) |
| 1 |
IRAQ |
119,296,380.84 |
102,567,633.42 |
-14.02% |
| 2 |
GERMANY |
70,434,121.84 |
83,793,567.74 |
18.97% |
| 3 |
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA |
112,524,048.20 |
82,607,060.98 |
-26.59% |
| 4 |
NETHERLANDS |
73,868,049.17 |
66,274,646.85 |
-10.28% |
| 5 |
ITALY |
116,520,648.63 |
62,469,093.00 |
-46.39% |
| 6 |
BELGIUM |
69,423,072.08 |
60,972,166.21 |
-12.17% |
| 7 |
UNITED KINGDOM |
49,151,293.97 |
60,154,331.64 |
22.39% |
| 8 |
LEBANON |
56,305,002.04 |
59,785,048.31 |
6.18% |
| 9 |
SPAIN |
34,270,482.14 |
59,105,383.23 |
72.47% |
| 10 |
ROMANIA |
45,774,745.18 |
47,033,293.65 |
2.75% |
Subsectors in chemical sector exports in October 2020
| |
|
|
2019-2020 |
| |
OCTOBER 2019 |
OCTOBER 2020 |
% DIFFERENCE |
| PRODUCT GROUP |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE |
| PLASTICS AND ARTICLES THEREOF |
541,513,117 |
594,027,119 |
9.70% |
| MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS |
617,052,628 |
298,767,763 |
-51.58% |
| INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
170,067,898 |
144,941,171 |
-14.77% |
| ESSENTIAL OILS, COSMETICS AND SOAPS |
107,749,772 |
136,588,664 |
26.76% |
| RUBBER AND RUBBER ARTICLES |
109,306,680 |
124,063,682 |
13.50% |
| PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS |
95,323,414 |
105,784,686 |
10.97% |
| PAINTS, VARNISHES, INKS AND PREPARATIONS |
81,309,832 |
89,702,479 |
10.32% |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES |
53,803,633 |
74,899,457 |
39.21% |
| ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
46,703,247 |
61,712,661 |
32.14% |
| WASHING PREPARATIONS |
44,171,549 |
49,498,556 |
12.06% |
| FERTILIZERS |
47,586,859 |
26,837,177 |
-43.60% |
| ADHESIVES, GLUES AND ENZYMES |
22,070,500 |
21,763,346 |
-1.39% |
| GUNPOWDER, EXPLOSIVES AND DERIVATIVES |
1,618,502 |
1,546,920 |
-4.42% |
| PRODUCTS USED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMATOGRAPHY |
1,352,885 |
779,743 |
-42.36% |
| GLYCERIN, VEGETABLE PRODUCTS, DEGRA AND FATTY SUBSTANCES |
62,061 |
102,036 |
64.41% |
| PROCESSED ASBESTOS AND MIXTURES, ARTICLES |
22,679 |
7,640 |
-66.31% |
| TOTAL |
1,939,715,255 |
1,731,023,101 |
-10.76% |
