According to data from the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), chemical exports in December increased by 10.48% compared to December 2017, reaching USD 1.522 billion.
While Turkey set an export record in 2018, the chemical industry achieved second place among the most exporting sectors with strong December performance.
In the ranking of countries with the highest chemical exports in December, Egypt led with USD 85.822 million in exports, followed by Italy with USD 83.782 million, and the United Arab Emirates in third place with USD 75.647 million. Other countries in the top ten included Iraq, the United States, Germany, Spain, Iran, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister stated: "Our chemical sector achieved second place for the fourth time on a monthly basis in 2018. Thus, surpassing our USD 17 billion target with USD 17.4 billion in exports, we secured third place after automotive and textiles. We advanced with confident steps toward permanent second place as promised. We are proud," he said.
2019 Chemical Export Target: USD 19 Billion
Pelister, evaluating 2018 for the chemical sector and announcing 2019 targets, stated: "Throughout 2018, we organized a total of 18 domestic and foreign trade and purchasing delegations, 10 national trade fair participations, 6 sectoral international competitiveness development projects (UR-GE), 6 sectoral training programs, 5 seminars and 4 workshops.
In 2018, we processed applications for 196 member companies meeting green passport conditions. To enable member companies to benefit from Alibaba, Turkish Exporters, Kompass and Chemorbis e-commerce platforms, in addition to support from TIM and the Ministry of Commerce, we provided 20% support. Our 1,380 member companies benefited from this support. In 2019, we will continue supporting activities that contribute to increased sector exports. To increase our exports and reach our 2023 targets, we particularly need to direct our SMEs toward greater exporting.
In this context, in 2019 we will focus on expanding the e-commerce network, facilitating exporters' access to financing, localization in the chemical sector, fairer allocation and efficient use of Turkey Promotion Group funds in the chemical sector and its subsegments, and expanding the Turkish Trade Centers network. We project 3.5% growth for the chemical sector in 2019. Our chemical sector export target for 2019 is USD 19 billion."
In subsectors, plastic and plastic products exports continue to be the driving force of chemical exports. In December,
plastics and plastic products led with USD 472.102 million in exports, ranking
first.
Second place was held by
mineral fuels, mineral oils and products with USD 372.791 million in exports, while
inorganic chemicals exports ranked
third with USD 154.796 million.
Following inorganic chemicals, other sectors in the top ten were: 'essential oils, cosmetics and soap', 'rubber and rubber articles', 'pharmaceutical products', 'paints, varnishes, ink and preparations', 'organic chemicals', 'miscellaneous chemical substances' and 'cleaning preparations'.
Top Chemical Export Destinations: December 2018
| No. |
Country |
December 2017 Value ($) |
December 2018 Value ($) |
Change (%) |
| 1 |
EGYPT |
75,443,731.38 |
85,822,739.36 |
13.76% |
| 2 |
ITALY |
46,901,734.78 |
83,782,540.33 |
78.63% |
| 3 |
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES |
32,036,901.08 |
75,647,060.19 |
136.12% |
| 4 |
IRAQ |
79,613,808.43 |
73,844,300.23 |
-7.25% |
| 5 |
UNITED STATES |
49,035,018.40 |
72,086,878.95 |
47.01% |
| 6 |
GERMANY |
69,485,011.14 |
68,363,964.95 |
-1.61% |
| 7 |
SPAIN |
70,134,976.88 |
57,184,480.44 |
-18.47% |
| 8 |
IRAN (ISLAMIC REP.) |
49,173,753.41 |
45,786,706.71 |
-6.89% |
| 9 |
UNITED KINGDOM |
36,256,700.90 |
44,896,373.77 |
23.83% |
| 10 |
NETHERLANDS |
29,253,830.79 |
44,089,959.03 |
50.72% |
Chemical Sector Exports: December 2018
|
|
|
2017–2018 |
|
December 2017 |
December 2018 |
% Difference |
| PRODUCT GROUP |
Value ($) |
Value ($) |
Value |
| PLASTICS AND PLASTIC PRODUCTS |
484,648,738 |
472,102,615 |
-2.59% |
| MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS |
238,033,701 |
372,791,999 |
56.61% |
| INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
123,040,435 |
154,796,111 |
25.81% |
| ESSENTIAL OILS, COSMETICS AND SOAP |
102,729,752 |
101,579,042 |
-1.12% |
| RUBBER AND RUBBER ARTICLES |
110,232,751 |
101,561,375 |
-7.87% |
| PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS |
87,703,390 |
92,467,884 |
5.43% |
| PAINTS, VARNISHES, INK AND PREPARATIONS |
61,198,232 |
62,028,075 |
1.36% |
| ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
55,370,236 |
46,819,505 |
-15.44% |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES |
42,733,837 |
44,410,116 |
3.92% |
| CLEANING PREPARATIONS |
36,889,747 |
35,102,362 |
-4.85% |
| FERTILIZERS |
15,670,275 |
22,309,047 |
42.37% |
| ADHESIVES, GLUES, ENZYMES |
17,800,025 |
15,171,951 |
-14.76% |
| PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMATOGRAPHY PRODUCTS |
1,326,810 |
894,590 |
-32.58% |
| GUNPOWDER, EXPLOSIVES AND DERIVATIVES |
1,008,634 |
646,576 |
-35.90% |
| GLYCERIN, VEGETABLE PRODUCTS, DEGRAS, FATTY SUBSTANCES |
3,601 |
126,427 |
3,410.56% |
| PROCESSED ASBESTOS AND MIXTURES, PRODUCTS |
38,574 |
15,060 |
-60.96% |
| TOTAL |
1,378,428,738 |
1,522,822,735 |
10.48% |
Monthly Chemical Exports: 2018
| Month |
2017 Value ($) |
2018 Value ($) |
Difference (%) |
| January |
1,234,212,906.45 |
1,353,702,125.71 |
9.68% |
| February |
1,348,669,776.14 |
1,265,652,311.76 |
-6.16% |
| March |
1,530,860,817.15 |
1,567,011,614.12 |
2.36% |
| April |
1,221,500,405.84 |
1,354,004,712.89 |
10.85% |
| May |
1,326,795,219.07 |
1,467,579,610.93 |
10.61% |
| June |
1,269,225,876.35 |
1,423,654,237.37 |
12.17% |
| July |
1,193,566,787.84 |
1,477,256,067.54 |
23.77% |
| August |
1,466,512,401.45 |
1,378,204,217.46 |
-6.02% |
| September |
1,280,510,240.70 |
1,533,214,984.40 |
19.73% |
| October |
1,474,495,527.85 |
1,594,973,586.64 |
8.17% |
| November |
1,393,629,687.05 |
1,506,449,232.81 |
8.10% |
| December |
1,378,428,738.16 |
1,522,822,734.63 |
10.48% |
| TOTAL |
16,118,408,384 |
17,444,525,436 |
8.23% |
Top Chemical Export Destinations: January–December 2018
| No. |
Country |
January–December 2017 Value ($) |
January–December 2018 Value ($) |
Change (%) |
| 1 |
EGYPT |
746,085,864.85 |
949,680,201.01 |
27.29% |
| 2 |
GERMANY |
865,397,935.40 |
937,684,792.71 |
8.35% |
| 3 |
IRAQ |
846,147,162.58 |
866,983,119.86 |
2.46% |
| 4 |
UNITED STATES |
788,650,067.59 |
836,035,105.47 |
6.01% |
| 5 |
SPAIN |
505,445,874.68 |
820,601,401.86 |
62.35% |
| 6 |
ITALY |
589,432,231.84 |
630,525,886.65 |
6.97% |
| 7 |
UNITED KINGDOM |
433,584,459.49 |
569,091,790.71 |
31.25% |
| 8 |
NETHERLANDS |
361,522,172.41 |
522,950,376.73 |
44.65% |
| 9 |
GREECE |
434,269,705.01 |
514,210,028.56 |
18.41% |
| 10 |
IRAN (ISLAMIC REP.) |
513,327,149.10 |
470,455,961.33 |
-8.35% |
Chemical Sector Exports: January–December 2018
|
|
|
2017–2018 |
|
January–December 2017 |
January–December 2018 |
% Difference |
| PRODUCT GROUP |
Value ($) |
Value ($) |
Value |
| PLASTICS AND PLASTIC PRODUCTS |
5,319,594,877 |
5,886,321,042 |
10.65% |
| MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS |
3,544,723,028 |
3,292,754,549 |
-7.11% |
| INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
1,298,700,701 |
1,808,770,291 |
39.28% |
| RUBBER AND RUBBER ARTICLES |
1,270,256,940 |
1,363,537,410 |
7.34% |
| ESSENTIAL OILS, COSMETICS AND SOAP |
1,131,331,357 |
1,146,384,815 |
1.33% |
| PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS |
872,468,397 |
959,633,306 |
9.99% |
| PAINTS, VARNISHES, INK AND PREPARATIONS |
693,999,298 |
795,922,223 |
14.69% |
| ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
653,220,846 |
624,069,621 |
-4.46% |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES |
512,016,792 |
601,265,946 |
17.43% |
| CLEANING PREPARATIONS |
423,764,333 |
454,933,151 |
7.36% |
| FERTILIZERS |
176,916,690 |
295,508,680 |
67.03% |
| ADHESIVES, GLUES, ENZYMES |
196,912,710 |
192,931,526 |
-2.02% |
| PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMATOGRAPHY PRODUCTS |
13,823,494 |
11,836,362 |
-14.38% |
| GUNPOWDER, EXPLOSIVES AND DERIVATIVES |
9,881,375 |
9,574,838 |
-3.10% |
| GLYCERIN, VEGETABLE PRODUCTS, DEGRAS, FATTY SUBSTANCES |
506,677 |
838,216 |
65.43% |
| PROCESSED ASBESTOS AND MIXTURES, PRODUCTS |
290,869 |
243,460 |
-16.30% |
| TOTAL |
16,118,408,384 |
17,444,525,436 |
8.23% |
