Despite global market turbulences and supply chain contractions across international trade corridors, the Turkish chemical industry—a foundational locomotive of the nation's manufacturing base—logged historical foreign trade benchmarks during the first half of the year. According to corporate data disclosed by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), chemical exports rose from $15.78 billion in H1 2024 and $15.75 billion in H1 2025 to establish a new peak in H1.
Following a relatively flat trajectory in the first quarter, the industrial segment initiated a strong recovery path, climbing to a $3.10 billion monthly volume in April and culminating in a $3.29 billion record performance in June. The June throughput reflects a notable 26.9% increase compared to June 2025 and a stellar 43.5% surge against June 2024, deploying a resilient growth runway for the remaining quarters of the fiscal year.
High-Level Ministerial Dialogues and Sub-Sector Dynamics
Taking office in April, the newly elected Chairman of the Istanbul Chemicals and Chemical Products Exporters Association (IKMIB), Vefa İbrahim Aracı, assessed the structural performance indicators and outlined the association's upcoming corporate layout:
Our chemical sector reached an export volume of $17.1 billion in the first half of the year, delivering its highest ever first 6-month export performance. The fact that the recovery starting in April was backed by robust export numbers in both April and June is a vital indicator for our industry. Reaching $136 billion in overall national exports, our sector accounted for a 12.6% share. Since taking office in April, we have conducted 7 sub-committee meetings addressing the field needs of our sub-sectors. Through these meetings, we directly hear the operational demands of our exporters and address bottlenecks through high-level institutional dialogues with our Ministries. Our close contact with public bodies, primarily the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Industry and Technology, is highly critical for accelerating solutions for the industry.
Strategic Feasibility Calibration for the Chemical Technology Center (KTM)
The Chemical Technology Center (KTM), an infrastructural asset established by IKMIB to scale localized research and development pipelines and optimize international testing/certification costs, stands as a top priority for the new administrative term. Characterizing the center's current operational setup and financial durability metrics, Aracı noted:
Upon taking office, we encountered a framework that required a comprehensive review in terms of the Chemical Technology Center’s current feasibility, capacity utilization, and financial sustainability structures. Therefore, we are actively restructuring the center into a highly visible, financially sound asset that yields concrete advantages for our exporters. We are steering this process in close coordination with our Ministries, public bodies, and leading academic institutions. The current metrics demonstrate our industry's production power, export reflexes, and global positioning. Moving forward, our target is to consolidate this momentum, alleviate operational barriers for our exporters, and accelerate campaigns to attract export-oriented foreign direct investment (FDI) into our country.
