Chemical Sector Becomes Export Champion in September

According to data released by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), the Chemical Sector was the export champion in September. According to the data, Turkey's exports in September increased by 0.3% compared to the same month of the previous year and reached USD 22.7 billion. The chemical sector became the export champion in September with USD 2.84 billion in exports. The sector's nine-month export thus exceeded USD 22 billion. Adil Pelister, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), evaluated the chemical sector's September export figures. Pelister stated: "Our chemical sector achieved USD 2.84 billion in exports in September. Thus, it became the leading sector with the highest exports in September. The sector's nine-month exports also exceeded USD 22 billion. As İKMİB, we focused on activities such as trade fair national participation organizations, trade fair info stand participation, and sectoral trade and purchasing delegations until the end of the year. We are making efforts to close this year again above USD 30 billion. I thank all our companies and exporters who are part of this effort." In his remarks, Adil Pelister also emphasized the importance of investments in the sector. Pelister said: "On the other hand, the electricity and natural gas price increases that took effect in October will negatively impact our sector. The chemical sector is an energy-intensive sector. Energy carries significant weight in production inputs. Therefore, increases in energy costs may be reflected in production costs and product prices in the coming period. Implementing incentives and support to minimize these costs is of great importance for our sector. Furthermore, increasing investments in our sector is important in terms of reducing import dependency. In recent times, we welcome the investments made in our sector with great satisfaction and look forward to seeing their contributions to the economy in the shortest time. We will continue working without slowing down and supporting our exporters to increase our exports." In September, among chemical substances and products groups, mineral fuels and products exports ranked first in chemical exports with USD 973.625 million. In second place was plastics and articles thereof with USD 779.536 million in exports, followed in third place by inorganic chemicals with USD 224.648 million. Following 'inorganic chemicals', other sectors ranking in the top ten were: 'essential oils, cosmetics and soaps', 'rubber and rubber articles', 'paints, varnishes, inks and their preparations', 'pharmaceutical products', 'miscellaneous chemical substances', 'organic chemicals' and 'washing preparations'. In September, the top ten countries with the highest exports were: Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Italy, Germany, Iraq, China, Lebanon, Belgium and the United States. Among the top 10 countries in September, the highest increase was 113.13% in China. In the January-September 2023 period, the top 10 countries for chemical exports were Russia, Netherlands, Italy, Romania, Germany, Spain, the United States, Iraq, the United Kingdom and Belgium, respectively.