Turkish manufacturers of large and small household appliances have reported a 13% drop in export sales in the first half versus the initial six months of last year.

The domestic association of white goods manufacturers Turkbesd (Istanbul; www.turkbesd.org), which represents around 90% of companies in the sector, softened the report of the negative development in trade by noting that local demand increased noticeably in the first half, with revenues jumping 18%.

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However, since exports are significantly larger, total sales fell 6%. Despite the slowdown, Turkbesd president Gökhan Sigin said production has been largely stable as it slipped 2%, and there have been no job cuts to date.

Sigin noted that he also sees some risks for the Turkish market: if it is unable to absorb foreign sales as before, which some indicators seem to suggest, the situation could deteriorate even more in the second half.