Europe Barcelona Sectoral Trade Delegation Held

İKMİB organized Europe Barcelona Sectoral Trade Delegation A trade delegation was held in Barcelona, Spain by the Istanbul Association of Exporters of Chemical Substances and Products (İKMİB). The trade delegation, which took place in Barcelona with the participation of 14 İKMİB member firms, saw a total of 97 companies from Spain and other European countries take part, with a total of 755 bilateral business meetings conducted during the delegation. Turkish cosmetic and personal care products, including skincare, bath, hair and sunscreen products, were presented to European firms within the scope of the Europe Barcelona Sectoral Trade Delegation organized by İKMİB between 11-15 February 2024 for the cosmetics and cleaning sector. Within the scope of the sectoral trade delegation, in which 26 representatives from 14 Turkish firms participated, meetings were held with suppliers of approximately 97 chain stores from Spain and other European countries. İKMİB Management Board Vice Chairman M. İmer Özer and İKMİB Management Board Member Uğur Adıyaman, along with Turkish Trade Attachés to Barcelona Mehmet Örnek and Nurdan Çamlıbel Aydın visited Turkish firms.

Exports to Spain have shown upward growth over the last 5 years

İKMİB Management Board Chairman Adil Pelister, noting that Europe is the most important market for Turkish exports, stated: "In order to both maintain our market share in Europe and increase it, we organized the Barcelona Sectoral Trade Delegation with 14 İKMİB member firms between 11-15 February 2024 under the main organizer ECRM framework in Barcelona, Spain. Our firms had the opportunity to meet with suppliers of approximately 75 foreign chain stores. Spain's cosmetics sector ranks as the second largest cosmetics market in Europe. In 2023, the sector reached a volume of EUR 15.3 billion. The sector's growth stems from factors such as increasing consumer demand, developing e-commerce and development of innovative products. Spain's most imported product category in 2022 was beauty, makeup, skincare and sunscreen products. These are followed respectively by perfumes, fragrance materials used as raw materials, washing and cleaning preparations, and hair preparations. Spain's total imports of cosmetics and cleaning products in 2022 amounted to USD 5.48 billion. Turkey's total exports of cosmetics and cleaning products to Spain in 2022 were USD 9.1 million, while total imports in the same year amounted to USD 95.3 million. In 2023, sector exports to Spain reached USD 12.2 million. Turkish cosmetics and cleaning products exports to Spain have shown upward growth over the last 5 years. In order to further boost this momentum and increase our exports to European countries, we will continue to support our exporters through delegations and fair organizations of this kind," he stated.

755 bilateral business meetings held

A total of 755 bilateral business meetings were conducted during the four-day event, in which a total of 111 Turkish and European firms participated and new cooperation opportunities were discussed. In the bilateral business meetings, Turkish firms met with buyers and suppliers from 23 European countries including Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Portugal, France, Czechia, Romania, Poland, Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria, Belgium, Ireland, Australia, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Finland, Estonia, the United States, Greece, Lithuania, South Africa and Serbia, as well as from other countries. The delegation meetings are expected to contribute to sectoral export growth in Spain as well as regionally.