Domestic sales in Turkey's white goods sector fell 8%, while exports were up slightly year-on-year in the first six months of the year, the Household Appliance Manufacturers Association of Turkey (TÜRKBESD) said on Thursday.

Domestic sales in the sector were down 2% in June, the association said, while exports were down 6% in the same period, reflecting the demand conditions.

The domestic market is expected to be narrowed further at the end of the year when compared to last year, while the sector’s exports are projected to be parallel to or slightly higher than last year.

Evaluating the results of the sector in the first half of 2022 at the online press conference he held, TÜRKBESD Chairperson Can Dinçer said 2022 is going to be a difficult year on a global scale.

"The increase in raw material prices, supply problems and the war between Russia and Ukraine aggravating these conditions," he said, noting "As one of the locomotive industries, steps to be taken in order to maintain the competitiveness of the white goods sector, which exports 75% of its production, are among our most important agenda items in this period."

The contraction in the domestic market has continued since the beginning of the year, Dinçer said, adding: "We believe that increasing the number of credit card installments will be beneficial in order to support the purchasing power of consumers. In addition, the abolition of the SCT will enable consumers to meet their needs more easily, increasing demand and ensuring that production continues strongly."

One of the important agenda items of the meeting was the dumping measures for flat steel products, which are the main input of white goods.

Mehmet Yavuz, a member of the board of directors of TÜRKBESD, said that flat steel accounts for 17% of the cost expenses of the white goods sector on average and emphasized that the product subject to the dumping investigation is one of the main inputs of many manufacturing industries, as well as the white goods sector.

"The amount of hot rolled sheet produced in our country is not at a level that can meet the demand for production. The gap is necessarily met through imports. Some 36% of Turkey's HRC imports come from Russia and 22% from Ukraine. The fact that imports can no longer be made from both countries necessitated a rapid diversification of supply sources. The anti-dumping decision for EU and South Korean products within the scope of the investigation adversely affects the competitiveness of all exporting manufacturing sectors, including white goods," said Yavuz.