Finished product surplus increases
According to PAGEV data, 3.8 million tons of plastic raw materials valued at 5.7 billion dollars were imported in the first half of 2018. Domestic raw material production was around 5.07 million tons in the same period. While the ratio of imports was high in raw materials, the opposite was true for finished products. The foreign trade surplus in finished products continued to grow in the first half of 2018. Compared to the same period previous year, quantity increased by 8.3% to 539,000 tons, while value increased by 29.6% to 793 million dollars.Discussing the performance figures of the industry in the first half of 2018, TOBB Plastic Rubber and Composite Industry Assembly and PAGEV Chairman Yavuz Eroğlu said: “Despite the fragility of all economic indicators in the first half of 2018, the plastics industry continued its upwards trend in manufacturing, exports and investments, proving its strengh and resilience once again. The past few months were no doubt difficult for all industrialists. If it were not for the economic downturn, our performance would have been even greater. Our projections indicate that profitability will lag behind the previous year in the second half of 2018. There is also the risk of the investment environment turning towards the negative. The plastics industry will continue in its endeavor to grow employment and the economy despite all difficulties."
What is the current condition of the Turkish plastics industry? The answer can be found at Plast EurAsia, which already on December 5 begins at the Tüyap Fair and Exhibition Centre in Istanbul. Last year more than 1000 companies from 43 countries exhibited here. Unfortunately, according to the information provided by the organizers, there will be no representatives of the plastics industry from Poland.
"The place where the fair takes place is the contact between Europe and Asia. The special importance of this exhibition is reflected in the possibility of establishing business contacts with partners from exotic and developing markets," says Jakub Mączka, President of Hurmak Polska, a Turkish injection moulding machine manufacturer.
In the last few years Hurmak has been dynamically developing its foreign sales network mainly in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Hurmak has its distributors in Romania, Hungary and a branch in Poland.
Despite the doubling of tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium by Washington, Turkey is still one of the fastest growing economies. The Turkish economy is one of the European Union's largest trading partners. Bilateral trade is worth 140 billion euros a year. At the end of 2017, trade between Poland and Turkey reached the level of approx. 6 billion Euros.
The Turkish chemical industry employs around 200,000 people, while the plastics processing sector, with a processing capacity of up to 9 million tonnes, is the sixth largest producer in the world and the second largest in Europe.
JL
Photo: pnTurkey
