Turkey's home appliances sales in line with expectations

Turkey’s home appliances sales in line with expectations

Turkey's Home Appliance Manufacturers Association data show that the country's domestic home appliances sales rose 2 percent month on month to 395,336 units in December. The result was in line with market expectations. Sales in all major product categories increased on a month-on-month basis, but washing machine sales continued to contract in December as well. Domestic home appliances sales also rose 8 percent year on year in December. Both ovens and dishwasher sales jumped 23 percent and refrigerators 18 percent. On the other hand, washing machine sales contracted 10 percent. Consequently, overall sales in 2005 expanded 3 percent to 5.19 million units compared to 5.04 million units in 2004. Dishwashers recorded the highest growth rate of 20 percent followed by refrigerators with 5 percent and ovens with 4 percent. Nonetheless, as dishwashers accounted for just 12 percent of total demand, their impact on the overall growth has remained limited. Washing machine sales, however, shrunk 4 percent in 2005 after sales in this product category hit record high last year. Refrigerators have the largest share in the overall sales with 41 percent. Washing machines followed refrigerators with 35 percent, despite some market share loss. Exports posted 8 percent rise in 2005, bringing the total figure to 7.79 million units compared to 7.21 million units in 2004. Sector experts expect favorable market conditions continue to exist for the industry players in 2006. The growth stands at 5 percent for the domestic market in 2006 and 15 percent for the export market.