The chemical industry is a field providing significant amounts of input to many branches of industry, such as automotive, leather products, glass, textile and paper products. The primary products exported by the Turkish chemical industry mainly include petrochemicals, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, synthetic fiber and strings, soap and detergent, as well as paints.
The export volume of the Turkish chemical industry has experienced an annual increase of 5 percent during the last five years, and come to have a 4.5 percent share in the total export proceeds of the country.
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The export volume of the chemical industry, which was USD 9.7 billion in 2008, declined to approximately USD 8 billion USD in 2009, with a decrease of 14.48 percent mainly due to the global economic downturn.
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The import volume of the chemical industry, which was USD 25.5 billion in 2008, declined to USD 24 billion in 2009.
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The proportion of petrochemicals in the total production is 30 percent, while that of fertilizers is 25 percent.
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25 percent of Turkey’s demand for petrochemicals is met by the Petkim Petrokimya Holding A.S. through domestic production.
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The chemical sector supplies 15 percent of the input to the textile industry, 12 percent of that to the leather industry, and more than 50 percent of that to the paper industry. |
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Source:
Bektasoglu Songul, “Chemical Industry”
Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade Export Promotion Center, 2009
Timur Erk, “Turkish Chemical Industry”
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- Strong export potential
- Significant growth outlook for many subsectors (i.e., pharmaceuticals, home & personal care, coatings, etc.)
- Awareness and support concerning REACH
- Young and knowledgeable workforce
- Turkey’s geostrategic importance
- Availability of some rare raw materials (soda ash, boron, chrome)
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- Relatively small scale by international standards
- Insufficient hazardous waste processing facilities
- Unregistered trading within the industry
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