Chemical Sector's Top Export Market Was Spain

According to data from the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), chemical exports in January increased by 10.05% compared to January 2017, reaching USD 1.357 billion.

Spain ranked first among countries with the highest exports in January, with a 66.71% increase compared to January 2017 and USD 93.262 million in exports.

Turkey's chemical industry, the country's third-largest exporting sector, continues to demonstrate strong export performance. Chemical sector exports in January reached USD 1.357 billion, a 10.05% increase compared to January 2017.

Spain Led Export Destinations in January

Spain was the leading destination for chemical exports in January. Chemical exports to Spain reached USD 93.262 million in January 2018, compared to USD 55.943 million in January 2017, representing a 66.71% increase. Other countries in the top ten for sector exports following Spain were Germany, Egypt, Netherlands, Italy, Iraq, Greece, Iran, France and the United States.

Plastics and Plastic Products Lead Subsector Exports

Plastics and plastic products continue to be the driving force of chemical exports across subsectors. Plastics and plastic products recorded the highest exports in January with USD 427.767 million in exports. Mineral fuels, mineral oils and their products ranked second with USD 304.843 million in exports, while inorganic chemicals ranked third with USD 121.947 million in exports. Following inorganic chemicals, other subsectors in the top ten were rubber and rubber products, pharmaceutical products, soaps and washing preparations, essential oils and cosmetics, paints, varnishes, inks and preparations, organic chemicals and miscellaneous chemical substances. Evaluating the chemical sector's January performance, İKMİB Board Chairman Murat Akyüz stated: "The chemical sector achieved a strong start to 2018, posting exports of USD 1.357 billion in January, a 10.05% increase compared to the same period last year. Chemical sector exports continue to maintain their position as the third-largest exporting sector after the automotive and apparel and confectionery sectors. In the first month of the year, Spain was our leading destination for chemical exports, with a significant 66.7% increase and USD 93.262 million in exports. Our export growth to Spain stems from increases in the mineral fuels, mineral oils and inorganic chemicals subsectors. The share of the European Union, where we conduct the most chemical sector exports, accounted for 46% of our total chemical exports. We are also observing notable increases among the top 10 destination countries in Egypt, Netherlands and the United States."

January 2018 Chemical Sector Exports

		2017-2018
	JANUARY 2016	% CHANGE	JANUARY 2017	JANUARY 2018
Product Group	Value ($)	Value	Value ($)	Value ($)
Plastics and plastic products	339,288,693	21.73	351,420,671	427,767,832
Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products	210,371,413	-20.73	384,561,673	304,843,964
Inorganic chemicals	71,068,589	50.51	81,022,912	121,947,949
Rubber and rubber products	89,328,542	21.49	95,257,814	115,732,427
Pharmaceutical products	55,345,283	31.85	56,366,748	74,322,335
Soaps and washing preparations	49,484,805	10.78	53,684,827	59,469,394
Essential oils and cosmetics	42,625,957	14.61	49,063,913	56,231,682
Paints, varnishes, inks and preparations	37,672,887	18.91	46,646,091	55,465,210
Organic chemicals	38,937,402	7.80	51,359,705	55,367,420
Miscellaneous chemical substances	31,988,879	21.06	35,336,241	42,777,336
Fertilizers	21,420,670	78.07	14,409,175	25,658,417
Adhesives, glues and enzymes	11,652,868	25.54	12,542,725	15,745,593
Products used in photography and cinematography	589,542	8.77	1,055,752	1,148,368
Gunpowder, explosives and their derivatives	612,477	42.27	518,067	737,034
Glycerin, vegetable products, degras and fatty substances	6,991	-6.27	109,137	102,293
Processed asbestos and mixtures, products	22,105	-28.10	23,120	16,624
Total	1,000,417,101	10.05%	1,233,378,571	1,357,333,876

January 2018 Leading Chemical Export Destinations

No.	Country	JANUARY 2017 VALUE ($)	JANUARY 2018 VALUE ($)	CHANGE (%)
1	SPAIN	55,943,018.97	93,262,171.47	66.71%
2	GERMANY	63,310,545.09	77,636,693.64	22.63%
3	EGYPT	28,357,177.66	76,957,950.13	171.39%
4	NETHERLANDS	30,326,987.30	68,553,026.36	126.05%
5	ITALY	51,735,869.50	61,093,738.91	18.09%
6	IRAQ	62,615,933.65	56,900,417.90	-9.13%
7	GREECE	28,755,353.09	53,086,770.02	84.62%
8	IRAN	41,691,244.19	53,061,084.40	27.27%
9	FRANCE	27,133,689.12	50,168,752.29	84.89%
10	UNITED STATES	22,046,608.23	46,364,084.94	110.30%