In the ‘January 2019 Sectoral Report’ which is prepared by Association of Turkish Construction Material Producers (Turkiye IMSAD) as the industry’s umbrella organization, the following subjects are included: Turkey’s economy will be in a balancing process with the government’s policy in 2019. While the current account deficit is reduced with the foreign trade deficit, it is foreseen to see a slowdown in the economic growth in the process of balancing inflation and interest rates. The construction sector will also be affected by the policies to be implemented in this context.
Although the official data have not been disclosed, the construction sector, which closed the year 2018 with a 1-2 percent downsizing, is expected to shrink in 2019 due to the tightening policies to be applied in the economy and the financial difficulties within the sector. Following the sharp contraction in the first two quarters, the construction sector is expected to recover in the third and fourth quarters with a 3-4 percent downsizing by the end of the year.
Export’, ‘renewal’ and ‘import substitution’ stands out this year In 2019, due to the expected weakening of the construction industry and the construction materials industry in the domestic market, exports stand out as an important way out for the industry. In 2019, it is expected that exports of construction materials will increase by 7-8 percent and exports will reach 22,6-22,8 billion dollars. The improvement in export markets is expected to continue for all sub-sector groups.
This year there are two development areas in the domestic market, unlike the previous years. The first one is that the demand for ‘renewal’, which has been postponed in recent years, can be stimulated in 2019, and the decline in imports of construction materials will continue in 2019. It is expected that high exchange rates will continue to limit imports, and therefore domestic supply will be more prominent instead of imports.
