The Turkish plastics industry is the largest in the Middle East, accounting for two-thirds (36 per cent) of the region’s demand as of 2015 data, AMI reports, while it holds a geographical advantage, bridging the Middle East with Europe.As such, Turkey’s export demand is strong, with clusters around Istanbul, Izmir, Adana and Gaziantep for the textiles and packaging industries. Furthermore, it has a youthful population and rising middle class, which means the outlook up to 2020 still looks largely positive.
Within Turkey projections for the increase in plastics production are particularly optimistic and AMI agrees that it is reasonable to expect a rise in market demand. Turkey is already a major player in the Middle East and European plastics industries, this is anticipated to continue in the coming years.
PP has traditionally been the most used resin, its usage being driven by the substantial production of BOPP and PP cast films as well as Turkey being the largest producer of cars, domestic appliances and electrical goods in the Middle East.
Whilst Turkey has relatively little polymer manufacturing capabilities and is reliant on imports for most of its needs the overall picture for the industry is positive. The Turkish plastics industry grew 5.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 and 5.1 per cent in the second quarter, exceeding previous expectations. Production is also forecast to increase by 9.4 per cent.
Reha Gür, the Chairman of PAGDER, evaluated the plastics industry during 2017 and said: “By the end of 2017, the industry attained a volume of 10-million ton production and USD 37.8 billion with 8 percent growth”, highlighting the long-awaited growth achieved by the industry.
Based on the industrial analysis prepared by the Turkish Plastics Industrialists’ Association (PAGDER), the actual production volume of plastic products totaling 9.22 million in 2016 is expected to reach 9.96 million tons at the end of 2017. The size of the industry is anticipated to reach USD 37.8 billion with 7.6 percent rise compared to the previous year.
Reminding that the Turkish plastics market ranks seventh in the world and second in Europe in terms of production capacity, Gür said: “This year, we are delighted with the actual growth at rates which could not be attained for some time. The growth of many industrial branches was limited in 2016 as a result of a number of factors such as cyclical conflicts. This led to a leap effect on manufacturing figures for 2017. While, for export, the unit prices are not at the intended level particularly in terms of plastic product export, the export volume rose 4 percent in quantity and 2-3 percent in USD.”
Stressing that they, as the Turkish plastics industry, expect performance above general manufacturing growth figures for 2018, Gür remarked: “In 2018, we hope that a more stabilized market will develop particularly in Syria and Iraq. Additionally, we have the expectation that positive initiatives will be put into practice for relations with Russia and EU compared to the previous year. Besides, high signals of growth achieved in EU and USA at the end of 2017 can be regarded ‘preliminary signals’ indicating that 2018 might be an active year for global trade markets.”
