Turkish construction material exports increased to $2.49 billion in July

Image: IMSAD

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According to the July 2024 results of the Construction Materials Industry Foreign Trade Index prepared by the Turkish Construction Materials Manufacturers Association (Türkiye İMSAD), exports of construction materials increased by $322 million compared to the previous month, reaching $2.49 billion. This increase represents a growth of 6.9 percent compared to the same period last year. The export volume was recorded as 3.82 million tonnes, which indicates an increase of 4.7 percent compared to July of the previous year.

Türkiye İMSAD attributes this significant increase in the construction materials industry indices in July to the fluctuations experienced in the April-June period. In that period, there were fluctuations in export indices due to the changes in the number of working days. However, this effect disappeared in July and the sector entered a strong growth trend again. The average unit value per kilogram of construction material exports rose to $0.65 in July, which corresponds to an annual increase of 2.1 per cent.

Developments in Sub-Sectors: Electrical Materials and Chemicals Stand Out

A general increase was also observed in the sub-sectors of the construction materials industry in July. In seven of the eight sub-product groups, export quantities exceeded those of July last year. The largest increase was recorded in chemical-based products by 55.6 per cent, while iron-steel products increased by 5.2 per cent, electrical equipment by 3.2 per cent and wood-wood products by 20.8 per cent. Exports of prefabricated structures decreased by 10 per cent.

A similar increase trend was observed in export values in sub-sectors. An increase of 1.2 percent in iron and steel products, 9.8 percent in electrical materials and equipment, 18.3 percent in chemical-based products, 13.3 percent in metal-based products and 3.3 percent in mineral, stone and soil products was recorded. In particular, unit prices of electrical materials and equipment increased by 6.4 per cent, while export unit prices of iron and steel products decreased by 3.8 per cent, prices of metal-based products by 3.3 per cent and average export unit price of chemical products by 24 per cent.

Imports and Annual Assessments: Imports Realised at $1.089 Billion

According to Turkey IMSAD's report, as of July 2024, imports of construction materials also increased and reached $1.089 billion. Imports, which fell below $1.0 billion in June, exceeded the $1.0 billion level again in July. The amount of imports was recorded as 342,100 tonnes. The average annual import unit price was $3.18/kg and increased compared to the previous month.

As of July 2024, annualised exports of construction materials reached $28.89 billion. While this figure remained below the $ 29 billion level, it was 4.3 percent below July last year and the annualised export quantity decreased by 4.7 percent to 45.87 million tonnes. The annualised average export unit price was 0.63 USD/kg.

The Role and Strategy of Türkiye İMSAD: Sustainable Growth Target

Türkiye İMSAD is a non-governmental organisation that represents Turkey's construction industry both domestically and internationally and acts with the goal of sustainable growth in the sector. The association, which includes 90 industrialist companies, 59 sector associations, 5 universities and 1 trade union, closely monitors the dynamics in the market and develops cooperation in domestic and foreign markets. Türkiye İMSAD also leads projects funded by the European Commission and takes important strategic steps for the future of the sector.

Such developments reflect Turkey's efforts to increase the competitiveness of the construction materials industry and expand its share in the world market. The Foreign Trade Index reports published by Türkiye İMSAD enable us to closely follow the success of these efforts and the dynamics of the sector. Türkiye İMSAD's sustainable growth strategy for the sector aims to continue to increase exports in the coming period.