Chemical sector exports in December reached USD 2.49 billion. According to data from İKMİB (Istanbul Chemical Exporters Association), sector exports showed a 38.24% increase compared to December of the previous year.
In 2021, the sector achieved USD 25.4 billion in exports with a 38.79% increase compared to 2020, setting a new record and finishing the year as the second sector after automotive.
Iraq ranks first in exports
Iraq was the leading export destination in December, with chemical exports to the country totaling USD 146,205,000 and showing a 37.41% increase compared to the same period in 2020.
The top five product groups exported to Iraq in December were "plastics and plastic articles", "mineral fuels, mineral oils and products", "essential oils, cosmetics and soap", "pharmaceutical products" and "paints, varnishes, ink and preparations".
Other countries in the top ten in December were Germany, Lebanon, USA, Italy, Greece, Spain, Belgium, France and Israel. Among the top 10 countries in December, Greece showed the highest export growth at 140.09%.
In the January-December period of 2021, the countries with the highest chemical exports were Netherlands, Germany, Iraq, USA, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Spain, United Kingdom and Lebanon.
December saw the highest exports of "plastics and plastic articles"
In December, among chemical products and manufactures, plastics and plastic articles ranked first with USD 848,512,000 in exports.
Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products came in second with USD 629,480,000 in exports, while inorganic chemicals exports ranked third with USD 186,847,000. Following inorganic chemicals, other sectors in the top ten were; pharmaceutical products, essential oils, cosmetics and soap, rubber and rubber goods, miscellaneous chemical substances, paints, varnishes, ink and preparations, organic chemicals and washing preparations.
The highest export growth in sub-sectors in December occurred in the mineral fuels, mineral oils and products sector with 113.87%.
2021 monthly chemical exports
| MONTH |
2020 VALUE ($) |
2021 VALUE ($) |
CHANGE (%) |
| January |
1,683,148,859.36 |
1,637,593,773.71 |
% -2.71 |
| February |
1,493,575,472.98 |
1,672,848,657.94 |
% 12.00 |
| March |
1,491,852,701.25 |
1,999,827,964.80 |
% 34.05 |
| April |
1,278,276,069.99 |
2,172,466,791.87 |
% 69.95 |
| May |
1,184,165,886.27 |
2,135,342,425.11 |
% 80.32 |
| June |
1,426,824,219.77 |
2,375,820,736.61 |
% 66.51 |
| July |
1,583,849,170.95 |
1,922,770,260.16 |
% 21.40 |
| August |
1,376,131,473.13 |
2,048,644,450.91 |
% 48.87 |
| September |
1,623,161,851.54 |
2,277,785,927.42 |
% 40.33 |
| October |
1,727,272,804.98 |
2,268,078,855.42 |
% 31.31 |
| November |
1,633,656,590.18 |
2,402,053,428.56 |
% 47.04 |
| December |
1,803,716,202.68 |
2,493,527,384.10 |
% 38.24 |
| TOTAL |
18,305,631,303 |
25,406,760,657 |
% 38.79 |
Top chemical exporting countries in December 2021
| NO. |
Country |
DECEMBER 2020 VALUE ($) |
DECEMBER 2021 VALUE ($) |
CHANGE VALUE (%) |
| 1 |
IRAQ |
106,401,150.80 |
146,205,196.35 |
% 37.41 |
| 2 |
GERMANY |
90,463,036.41 |
115,454,627.17 |
% 27.63 |
| 3 |
LEBANON |
53,881,587.43 |
108,012,788.39 |
% 100.46 |
| 4 |
USA |
78,797,219.00 |
99,525,485.08 |
% 26.31 |
| 5 |
ITALY |
57,190,008.76 |
95,833,831.99 |
% 67.57 |
| 6 |
GREECE |
39,351,918.26 |
94,479,282.52 |
% 140.09 |
| 7 |
SPAIN |
48,793,571.66 |
84,170,817.12 |
% 72.50 |
| 8 |
BELGIUM |
61,136,958.68 |
82,461,953.98 |
% 34.88 |
| 9 |
FRANCE |
37,712,479.43 |
73,520,994.18 |
% 94.95 |
| 10 |
ISRAEL |
54,475,151.66 |
71,378,054.67 |
% 31.03 |
December 2021 chemical sector exports by sub-sectors
| |
|
|
2020-2021 |
| |
DECEMBER 2020 |
DECEMBER 2021 |
% CHANGE |
| PRODUCT GROUP |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE |
| PLASTICS AND PLASTIC ARTICLES |
641,612,940 |
848,512,327 |
% 32.25 |
| MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS |
294,334,129 |
629,480,343 |
% 113.87 |
| INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
152,469,908 |
186,847,955 |
% 22.55 |
| PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS |
125,317,023 |
140,981,579 |
% 12.50 |
| ESSENTIAL OILS, COSMETICS AND SOAP |
131,884,549 |
139,302,874 |
% 5.62 |
| RUBBER AND RUBBER GOODS |
123,997,840 |
127,969,317 |
% 3.20 |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES |
79,641,001 |
121,393,380 |
% 52.43 |
| PAINTS, VARNISHES, INK AND PREPARATIONS |
90,036,442 |
103,196,340 |
% 14.62 |
| ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
70,903,210 |
89,119,595 |
% 25.69 |
| WASHING PREPARATIONS |
44,961,734 |
50,344,557 |
% 11.97 |
| ADHESIVES, GLUES, ENZYMES |
24,794,430 |
36,183,236 |
% 45.93 |
| FERTILIZERS |
20,307,028 |
16,802,400 |
% -17.26 |
| GUNPOWDER, EXPLOSIVE SUBSTANCES AND DERIVATIVES |
2,009,157 |
1,646,834 |
% -18.03 |
| PRODUCTS USED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMATOGRAPHY |
1,283,960 |
1,323,975 |
% 3.12 |
| GLYCERIN, VEGETABLE PRODUCTS, DEGRAS, FATTY SUBSTANCES |
93,439 |
374,939 |
% 301.27 |
| PROCESSED ASBESTOS AND MIXTURES, ARTICLES |
69,412 |
47,731 |
% -31.23 |
| TOTAL |
1,803,716,203 |
2,493,527,384 |
% 38.24 |
Top chemical exporting countries in 2021
| NO. |
Country |
JANUARY-DECEMBER 2020 VALUE ($) |
JANUARY-DECEMBER 2021 VALUE ($) |
CHANGE VALUE (%) |
| 1 |
NETHERLANDS |
879,909,643.53 |
1,340,496,080.83 |
% 52.34 |
| 2 |
GERMANY |
927,112,648.48 |
1,220,607,415.43 |
% 31.66 |
| 3 |
IRAQ |
1,010,512,052.97 |
1,179,173,233.11 |
% 16.69 |
| 4 |
USA |
838,912,810.73 |
1,141,436,583.88 |
% 36.06 |
| 5 |
ITALY |
706,112,452.13 |
1,057,413,485.64 |
% 49.75 |
| 6 |
GREECE |
387,739,381.12 |
891,169,199.55 |
% 129.84 |
| 7 |
BELGIUM |
479,847,413.44 |
852,440,674.19 |
% 77.65 |
| 8 |
SPAIN |
558,000,052.65 |
829,151,945.62 |
% 48.59 |
| 9 |
UNITED KINGDOM |
687,759,860.06 |
809,249,006.48 |
% 17.66 |
| 10 |
LEBANON |
345,316,369.90 |
802,894,169.50 |
% 132.51 |
2021 chemical sector exports by sub-sectors
| |
|
|
2020-2021 |
| |
JANUARY-DECEMBER
2020 |
JANUARY-DECEMBER
2021 |
% CHANGE |
| PRODUCT GROUP |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE |
| PLASTICS AND PLASTIC ARTICLES |
6,330,958,744 |
8,989,560,724 |
% 41.99 |
| MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS |
3,119,924,907 |
5,583,706,069 |
% 78.97 |
| INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
1,586,841,502 |
2,070,345,098 |
% 30.47 |
| RUBBER AND RUBBER GOODS |
1,178,028,029 |
1,480,462,571 |
% 25.67 |
| PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS |
1,193,819,038 |
1,425,540,459 |
% 19.41 |
| ESSENTIAL OILS, COSMETICS AND SOAP |
1,363,151,159 |
1,403,521,546 |
% 2.96 |
| PAINTS, VARNISHES, INK AND PREPARATIONS |
871,425,970 |
1,108,361,220 |
% 27.19 |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES |
998,370,874 |
1,009,869,393 |
% 1.15 |
| ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
523,861,736 |
919,276,890 |
% 75.48 |
| WASHING PREPARATIONS |
573,529,613 |
567,366,346 |
% -1.07 |
| FERTILIZERS |
303,258,344 |
487,959,591 |
% 60.91 |
| ADHESIVES, GLUES, ENZYMES |
234,604,308 |
327,341,365 |
% 39.53 |
| GUNPOWDER, EXPLOSIVE SUBSTANCES AND DERIVATIVES |
14,605,984 |
19,304,496 |
% 32.17 |
| PRODUCTS USED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMATOGRAPHY |
10,943,487 |
11,942,336 |
% 9.13 |
| GLYCERIN, VEGETABLE PRODUCTS, DEGRAS, FATTY SUBSTANCES |
1,327,056 |
1,976,713 |
% 48.95 |
| PROCESSED ASBESTOS AND MIXTURES, ARTICLES |
980,552 |
225,840 |
% -76.97 |
| TOTAL |
18,305,631,303 |
25,406,760,657 |
% 38.79 |
