ICI Türkiye Export Climate Index Rose to 54.4 in April

• 11.05.2022
• News

The Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI) Türkiye Manufacturing Export Climate Index, which measures the operation conditions in the key export markets of the Turkish manufacturing sector, rose to 54.4 in April. The index signalled a significant improvement in foreign demand conditions of manufacturers, slightly higher than March. It means the export climate has continued to strengthen for the last 15 months.

The support provided to the economic activity by the eased pandemic measures in Euro Zone offset the challenges caused by supply chain disruptions and sharp price increases. The output growth accelerated in Italy, Spain, France and Holland, but dropped again to the lowest level of 2022 in Germany. In the USA and the United Kingdom however, the growth maintained its high pace, though with a slight decline. The economic activity of Russia declined for the second consecutive month, while China saw the highest decline among the monitored countries due to the strict measures applied for Covid-19 in China.

The Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI) Türkiye Manufacturing Export Climate Index, which measures the operation conditions in the key export markets of the Turkish manufacturing sector, announced the results of the index for April 2022. In the index, the figures above the 50.0 no-change mark signals an improvement in the export climate, while the figures below signals deterioration.

The Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Manufacturing Export Climate Index rose to 54.4 in April from 53.9 in March. The latest data signalled a significant improvement in foreign demand conditions of manufacturers with a rate slightly better than March. It means the export climate has continued to strengthen for the last 15 months.

Growth in Euro Zone offsets the challenges

In April, Turkish exporters achieved growth in economic activity in top eight export markets. The support provided to the economic activity by the eased pandemic measures in Euro Zone offset the challenges caused by supply chain disruptions and sharp price increases. The output growth in Italy, Spain, France and Holland started to accelerate in the beginning of the second quarter. However, the growth rate dropped again in Germany to the lowest figure seen in 2022. In the USA and the United Kingdom, the other two important export markets of Türkiye, the growth maintained its high pace, though with a slight decline.

Output declines in Russia, but with a slower rate compared to March

Non-oil economic activity in the United Arab Emirates continued to increase significantly in April, the highest since the beginning of the year. The biggest export market that had an output contraction in April was Russia, which accounts for 2 percent of Turkish manufacturing industry’s export. The war in Ukraine and the related sanctions affected Russia’s economic activity, dropping for the second consecutive month. But the decline was slower than March. Another concern in April was China where the tight measures applied against Covid-19 pandemic negatively affected the economic activity. The decline in output was the most significant after February 2020 and the highest among the countries monitored under the scope of the survey. 

On the contrary, the strongest expansion in economic activity was seen in Qatar which reached the highest growth rate of the last five years. As for the other Middle Eastern countries, the output dropped in Egypt and Lebanon, but continued to rise in Saudi Arabia.

Commenting on the Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Manufacturing Export Climate Index, Andrew Harker, Economics Director, S&P Global, said:

“The continuing growth in all the key export markets of Turkish manufacturing industry products means that the companies still have the opportunities to get new businesses from abroad. Even though serious price pressures in the global economy seem to limit the growth, the weakness of Turkish Lira may help the companies to maintain their relative advantages in price competitions.”

You can find attached the Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Export Climate Index April 2022 reports.