Turkey's
White Goods Manufacturers Association data show that the country's domestic
white goods sales jumped 27% to 369'846 units in March 2005 from 290'236 units in February 2005.
Dishwashers and ovens, which saw a rise of 41% and 39% respectively, contributed to the monthly sales increase.
However, year on year comparison indicated a weaker market demand.
White goods sales fell 6% year on year.
Despite the monthly increase, overall sales in the first three months of 2005 remained almost unchanged from a year earlier. Total figure amounted to 953'770 units, up slightly from 949'654 units in the same period last year.
Dishwashers and ovens continued to be the higher growth product categories in the first quarter of 2005. In addition, economists expect this trend to continue during the rest of the year as dishwashers have the lowest penetration rate and ovens are relatively affordable for replacement. On the other hand, refrigerator sales remained almost flat, while the washing machine sales saw a slight decline.
Exports only rose 2% year on year to 1.62 million units in the first three months of the year. Refrigerators (45%) and washing machines (35%) held the highest market shares in export volumes.
Economists believe that 2005 will be a moderately pleasing year in terms of demand for
white goods producers. On the other hand, the extended maturities, price discounts and favorable financing terms still create a considerably high competition in the market.