USA Leads Chemical Industry Exports; Chemistry Sector Overcomes US Barriers
Turkey's chemical industry, the third-largest export-performing sector in the country, saw the USA reach the top position in July exports. Despite recent sanctions and pressures, chemical industry exports to the USA reached $171 million 424 thousand, representing a 173.18% increase compared to July 2017.
In the seven-month period of 2018, exports to the USA reached $568 million 782 thousand, surpassing
Germany and claiming the top position.
Countries ranking in the top ten for chemical exports in July were the USA, Iraq, Germany, China, Egypt, Italy, India, United Kingdom, France and Israel, while the sector's July exports totalled $1 billion 482 million.
USA Becomes Top Export Destination in July
The USA became the top export destination in July. While most sectors experienced losses,
chemical industry exports to the USA stood at $62 million 752 thousand in July 2017; in July 2018 this reached $171 million 424 thousand, representing a 173.18% increase, marking a record high for exports to the USA in the past 5 years.
In the seven-month period of 2018, the main products exported to the USA were mineral fuels, mineral oils and products, organic chemicals, gunpowder, explosives and derivatives, rubber, rubber articles and inorganic chemicals.
Other countries ranking in the top ten for exports after the USA were Iraq, Germany, China, Egypt, Italy, India, United Kingdom, France and Israel.
Plastics and Articles Thereof Lead Chemical Sub-Sector Exports
Among sub-sectors, plastics and articles thereof continue to drive chemical exports. In July,
plastics and articles thereof represented the largest export volume, ranking first with $504 million 472 thousand 599 dollars in exports.
In second place with $251 million 878 thousand 809 dollars in exports stood
mineral fuels, oils and products, while
inorganic chemicals exports ranked
third with $167 million 601 thousand 327 dollars.
Following inorganic chemicals, other top-ten sectors were rubber and rubber articles, essential oils, cosmetics and soaps, pharmaceutical products, paints, varnishes, inks and preparations, miscellaneous chemical substances, organic chemicals and washing preparations.
Looking at the sector's seven-month export performance, exports in the January-July period reached $9 billion 914 million, representing an 8.66% increase compared to the same period in 2017. The countries with the highest exports during this period were the USA, Germany, Egypt, Iraq, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Greece and China.
Evaluating the chemical sector's July performance,
İstanbul Kimyevi Maddeler ve Mamulleri İhracatçıları Birliği (İKMİB) Board Chair Adil Pelister stated that the USA topped chemical sector exports this month, and said the following:
"As you know, there has been an unfortunate tension between the USA and Turkey recently. While many of our sectors have experienced export losses as a result of the USA's sanctions against China and the sanctions it has attempted to apply to Turkey, the chemical industry achieved its highest exports to the USA in July at $171 million 424 thousand, representing a 173.18% increase compared to July 2017. This figure also represents a record high for exports to the USA in the past 5 years.
Additionally, looking at the seven-month period of 2018, we see that the USA has surpassed Germany with $568 million 782 thousand, rising to become the country receiving the most chemical exports.
While this is encouraging for our chemical sector, the recent crisis between our country and the USA concerns us. The steps taken by the US administration and Turkey are very important to ensure that the long-standing commercial relations between these two friendly and allied nations are not adversely affected.
I hope the crisis will be resolved without prolongation, within a framework of mutual respect. Nevertheless, outside the USA, it is noteworthy that chemical exports to India in July showed a high increase of 420.48% compared to the same period of the previous year."
Countries with Highest Chemical Exports in July 2018
| NO. |
Country |
JULY 2017 VALUE ($) |
JULY 2018 VALUE ($) |
CHANGE (%) |
| 1 |
USA |
62,752,024.06 |
171,424,093.29 |
173.18% |
| 2 |
IRAQ |
68,970,973.89 |
77,485,749.25 |
12.35% |
| 3 |
GERMANY |
68,273,956.97 |
75,039,999.06 |
9.91% |
| 4 |
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA |
24,889,266.70 |
62,271,384.65 |
150.19% |
| 5 |
EGYPT |
28,423,064.47 |
61,595,148.73 |
116.71% |
| 6 |
ITALY |
44,399,542.12 |
44,354,498.18 |
-0.10% |
| 7 |
INDIA |
7,914,704.83 |
41,194,303.98 |
420.48% |
| 8 |
UNITED KINGDOM |
33,375,771.01 |
40,998,241.22 |
22.84% |
| 9 |
FRANCE |
31,134,829.78 |
38,441,234.75 |
23.47% |
| 10 |
ISRAEL |
29,206,014.58 |
36,450,628.47 |
24.81% |
Chemical Sector Exports in July 2018
|
|
|
2017-2018 |
|
JULY 2017 |
JULY 2018 |
% DIFFERENCE |
| PRODUCT GROUP |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE ($) |
VALUE |
| PLASTICS AND ARTICLES THEREOF |
434,640,124 |
504,472,599 |
16.07 |
| MINERAL FUELS, MINERAL OILS AND PRODUCTS |
198,194,627 |
251,878,809 |
27.09 |
| INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
96,538,748 |
167,601,327 |
73.61 |
| RUBBER, RUBBER ARTICLES |
96,488,085 |
106,969,086 |
10.86 |
| ESSENTIAL OILS, COSMETICS AND SOAPS |
94,631,179 |
100,946,149 |
6.67 |
| PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS |
59,991,751 |
77,503,428 |
29.19 |
| PAINTS, VARNISHES, INKS AND PREPARATIONS |
59,910,582 |
72,396,724 |
20.84 |
| MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES |
38,829,250 |
58,917,614 |
51.74 |
| ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
52,095,850 |
47,761,013 |
-8.32 |
| WASHING PREPARATIONS |
36,500,826 |
39,311,227 |
7.70 |
| FERTILIZERS |
7,105,006 |
37,557,986 |
428.61 |
| ADHESIVES, GLUES, ENZYMES |
16,925,978 |
15,935,675 |
-5.85 |
| PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CINEMATOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS |
987,194 |
851,977 |
-13.70 |
| GUNPOWDER, EXPLOSIVES AND DERIVATIVES |
684,548 |
844,199 |
23.32 |
| GLYCERIN, PLANT PRODUCTS, DEGRADATION AND OILY SUBSTANCES |
46,445 |
28,301 |
-39.07 |
| PROCESSED ASBESTOS AND MIXTURES, ARTICLES |
9,126 |
19,589 |
114.64 |
| TOTAL |
1,193,579,320 |
1,482,995,704 |
24.25% |
Chemical Exports on Monthly Basis in 2018
| MONTH |
2017 VALUE ($) |
2018 VALUE ($) |
DIFFERENCE (%) |
| January |
1,234,212,906.45 |
1,353,958,888.29 |
9.70% |
| February |
1,348,669,776.14 |
1,265,733,603.26 |
-6.15% |
| March |
1,530,865,081.94 |
1,567,597,951.19 |
2.40% |
| April |
1,221,501,265.52 |
1,353,675,636.45 |
10.82% |
| May |
1,326,799,763.89 |
1,467,800,776.71 |
10.63% |
| June |
1,269,252,737.07 |
1,423,221,590.16 |
12.13% |
| July |
1,193,579,320.30 |
1,482,995,703.79 |
24.25% |
