White goods sales continue to rise

ISTANBUL

White goods sales continued to rise in August as consumers anticipate prices of those items will increase in the coming months, according to the White Goods Manufacturers’ Association (TÜRKBESD).

Domestic sales grew 18.6 percent in August from a year ago to more than 852,000, the data from the association showed.

The industry’s exports, however, fell 8 percent year-on-year in the month due to the unfavorable economic conditions in Europe, Türkiye’s largest export market. Local companies sold 1.9 million products to foreign markets in August.

Washing machine exports climbed 6.3 percent, but oven shipments to foreign countries plunged nearly 21 percent from August last year.

The white goods industry’s production dropped 0.3 percent in August compared with the same month of 2022 to 2.8 million.

From January to August, domestic sales increased by 21 percent from the same period of 2022, while the sector’s output inched up only 0.2 percent, said TÜRSKBED. Exports were down 10.8 percent in the first eight months of 2023.

“The domestic market was vibrant, but export performance remained weak in January-August, with total sales, including domestic sales and exports, amounting to 21.5 million units,” said Gökhan Sığın, the president of TÜRKBESD.

The industry proved to be resilient to the fluctuations in the domestic and global economy, he added.

“Yet, it is becoming even more important that we need to sustain our sector's dynamism in the domestic market, production and employment in order to main our competitiveness in foreign markets,” Sığın said.