According to data from the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), chemical sector exports declined 8.5% year-on-year in July 2020, but rose 11% compared to June, reaching USD 1.586 billion. The sector's seven-month export total reached USD 10.15 billion. Iraq, the United States and Germany were the top three destinations for chemical exports.
Evaluating July chemical sector export figures,
İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister stated: "Our chemical sector achieved approximately USD 1.6 billion in exports in July. This represents an 11% increase compared to June. Our sector's seven-month exports exceeded USD 10 billion. We managed to maintain our position as the second sector during this seven-month period. In July, the United States stands out both as the second-largest destination and as the country with the highest growth rate at 56.30% among the top 10 exporters.
There are particularly good opportunities for our sector in the Latin America region. Through trade delegations organized by İKMİB, we bring our exporters together with buyers to benefit from these opportunities. Our hopes and expectations for the future regarding our country and sector remain positive.
Economic indicators are also reinforcing these hopes. We continue to work with full effort, aware of our responsibilities. Our sector must be prepared to meet the demand that will emerge after the pandemic.
Therefore, we must prioritize high-value-added product investments in line with digital transformation principles. We expect our government to provide incentives and support for investments in our chemical sector," he said.
Iraq led chemical exports in July
Iraq was the top destination for chemical exports in July. Other countries in the top 10 following Iraq in July were the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Israel, Romania and Iran.
Chemical exports to Iraq in July 2020 totaled USD 97,192,000. The main categories exported to Iraq in July were plastics and plastic products, essential oils, cosmetics and soap, pharmaceutical products, cleaning preparations, paints, varnishes, inks and preparations, miscellaneous chemical substances, mineral fuels, mineral oils and products, fertilizers, adhesives, glues and enzymes, and inorganic chemicals.
During the seven-month period January-July 2020, the countries receiving the most chemical exports were, in order: Netherlands, Germany, Iraq, Italy, United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, Romania and Belgium in the top 10.
Plastics and plastic products recorded the highest exports in July
In July, plastics and plastic products ranked first in chemical exports among product groups, accounting for USD 588,783,979.
Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products ranked second with USD 196,179,519 in exports, while essential oils, cosmetics and soap ranked third with USD 138,214,524. Following essential oils, cosmetics and soap, other sectors in the top 10 were inorganic chemicals, pharmaceutical products, rubber and rubber goods, miscellaneous chemical substances, paints, varnishes, inks and preparations, cleaning preparations and organic chemicals.
2020 monthly chemical sector exports
| MONTH |
2019 VALUE ($) |
2020 VALUE ($) |
DIFFERENCE (%) |
| January |
1,541,011,066.76 |
1,689,023,544.68 |
9.60% |
| February |
1,646,209,498.78 |
1,495,076,737.00 |
-9.18% |
| March |
1,844,933,116.99 |
1,503,683,640.43 |
-18.50% |
| April |
1,773,905,808.31 |
1,275,703,086.71 |
-28.09% |
| May |
1,938,380,422.97 |
1,178,783,791.36 |
-39.19% |
| June |
1,297,647,558.94 |
1,426,902,759.84 |
9.96% |
| July |
1,736,938,345.58 |
1,586,524,919.85 |
-8.66% |
| TOTAL |
11,779,025,818 |
10,155,698,480 |
-13.78% |
Countries receiving the most chemical exports in July 2020
| NO. |
Country |
JULY 2019 VALUE ($) |
JULY 2020 VALUE ($) |
CHANGE (%) |
| 1 |
IRAQ |
89,606,051.81 |
97,192,833.20 |
8.47% |
| 2 |
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA |
52,603,393.30 |
82,216,712.07 |
56.30% |
| 3 |
GERMANY |
77,187,947.48 |
72,243,659.07 |
-6.41% |
| 4 |
UNITED KINGDOM |
50,107,072.89 |
66,552,422.66 |
32.82% |
| 5 |
NETHERLANDS |
157,461,202.02 |
61,818,557.26 |
-60.74% |
| 6 |
BELGIUM |
35,792,620.47 |
44,778,267.39 |
25.10% |
| 7 |
ITALY |
61,300,071.93 |
44,680,505.52 |
-27.11% |
| 8 |
ISRAEL |
37,553,382.17 |
43,836,730.52 |
16.73% |
| 9 |
ROMANIA |
43,128,489.42 |
43,041,599.09 |
-0.20% |
| 10 |
IRAN |
55,408,336.01 |
41,981,875.13 |
-24.23% |
Chemical sector sub-sectors in July 2020 exports
| |
|
|
2019-2020 |
| |
JULY 2019 |
JULY 2020 |
% DIFFERENCE |
| PRODUCT GROUP |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE |
| PLASTICS AND PLASTIC PRODUCTS |
573,590,786 |
588,783,979 |
2.65% |
| MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS |
388,786,311 |
196,179,519 |
-49.54% |
| ESSENTIAL OILS, COSMETICS AND SOAP |
108,054,315 |
138,214,524 |
27.91% |
| INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
167,478,152 |
125,312,328 |
-25.18% |
| PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS |
91,505,470 |
118,760,770 |
29.79% |
| RUBBER AND RUBBER GOODS |
108,445,301 |
97,891,182 |
-9.73% |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES |
69,539,697 |
87,111,230 |
25.27% |
| PAINTS, VARNISHES, INKS AND PREPARATIONS |
76,619,033 |
78,470,457 |
2.42% |
| CLEANING PREPARATIONS |
42,508,846 |
56,276,132 |
32.39% |
| ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
58,914,719 |
38,722,385 |
-34.27% |
| FERTILIZERS |
29,010,478 |
37,411,181 |
28.96% |
| ADHESIVES, GLUES AND ENZYMES |
20,249,373 |
20,885,390 |
3.14% |
| GUNPOWDER, EXPLOSIVE SUBSTANCES AND DERIVATIVES |
775,382 |
1,303,430 |
68.10% |
| PRODUCTS USED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMATOGRAPHY |
1,352,891 |
989,026 |
-26.90% |
| GLYCERIN, VEGETABLE PRODUCTS, DEGRA, FATTY SUBSTANCES |
100,720 |
200,174 |
98.74% |
| PROCESSED ASBESTOS AND MIXTURES, PRODUCTS |
6,872 |
13,213 |
92.27% |
| TOTAL |
1,736,938,346 |
1,586,524,920 |
-8.66% |
