PAGEV (Turkish Plastics Manufacturers Research, Development and Education Foundation) conducted a detailed analysis of 10 plastic product groups that rank among Turkey's top 300 export categories overall, to identify product groups with high export potential in plastics.
Based on TURKSTAT data, the report outlined strategies for increasing exports across 10 different product categories ranging from construction materials to packaging, household and kitchenware to acrylic polymers.
The annual average exports of the selected 10 plastic products between 2014-2018 totaled USD 3.348 billion. During the same period, the annual average global exports of these products amounted to USD 175.6 billion.
PAGEV Board Chairman Yavuz Eroğlu said: "By conducting a detailed analysis of the 10 product groups with the highest potential among the products our country exports, we have presented our recommendations on what needs to be done to increase our exports in these products based on the findings we obtained.
In order to elevate the plastic industry's contribution to our country's economy and exports to higher levels, we must certainly increase our current export prices. Even among the 10 product groups where we are more competitive compared to our overall plastic sector, our export revenue per kilogram stands at USD 2.3.
While we sell at USD 2.3 per kilogram, our biggest competitor Germany exports the same product at USD 6. Turkish plastics industry is Europe's second largest producer after Germany. We can only close the gap by exporting high value-added products.
If we manage to raise our export price to USD 5 per kilogram for the selected 10 products in the short and medium term, exports of these products can exceed USD 7 billion," he said.
Eroğlu continued: "Single-use plastic and food containers-closures rank among Turkey's largest export categories. While the average growth of countries exporting these products globally is 2%, Turkey's growth is at 5.4% annually.
In other words, Turkey is growing 270% faster than other countries in exporting these products. We need to rapidly boost our exports of these products.
Without delay, it is important to establish bilateral agreements regarding our target export markets where the 10 plastic product groups listed with high export potential are prioritized.
On the other hand, in the long term, steps need to be taken to enable us to be included in the bilateral agreements made by the EU."
10 Plastic Products with Export Potential
| HS CODE |
Product Group |
| 3905 |
Polymers of vinyl acetate/other vinyl esters (in primary forms) |
| 3906 |
Acrylic polymers (in primary form) |
| 3909 |
Amino resins, phenolic resins, polyurethanes (in primary form) |
| 3916 |
Plastic monofilament, rods, profiles-cross-section exceeding 1 mm |
| 3917 |
Plastic tubes, pipes, hoses; seals, fittings, connectors etc. |
| 3921 |
Other plastic sheets, films, foil and laminated sheets |
| 3922 |
Plastic baths, showers, washbasins, toilet seats and fittings |
| 3923 |
Plastic articles for goods transport; caps, closures, capsules |
| 3924 |
Plastic tableware, kitchenware and other household articles, toilet articles |
| 3925 |
Plastic building materials |
Share of 10 Products' 5-Year Average Exports in Plastic Sector Annual Average Exports - Turkey and World Comparison
| HS CODE |
Product Group |
Turkey Export
Million USD |
World
Million USD |
Turkey % Share |
World % Share |
| 3923 |
Plastic articles for goods transport; caps, closures, capsules |
867 |
52,332 |
15.7 |
8.9 |
| 3917 |
Plastic tubes, pipes, hoses; seals, fittings, connectors etc. |
652 |
23,898 |
11.8 |
4.1 |
| 3921 |
Other plastic sheets, films, foil and laminated sheets |
412 |
25,839 |
7.5 |
4.4 |
| 3924 |
Plastic tableware, kitchenware and other household articles, toilet articles |
387 |
17,654 |
7.0 |
3.0 |
| 3916 |
Plastic monofilament, rods, profiles-cross-section exceeding 1 mm |
304 |
5,337 |
5.5 |
0.9 |
| 3925 |
Plastic building materials |
254 |
10,929 |
4.6 |
1.9 |
| 3906 |
Acrylic polymers (in primary form) |
213 |
15,206 |
3.8 |
2.6 |
| 3922 |
Plastic baths, showers, washbasins, toilet seats and fittings |
111 |
3,717 |
2.0 |
0.6 |
| 3909 |
Amino resins, phenolic resins, polyurethanes (in primary form) |
107 |
16,311 |
1.9 |
2.8 |
| 3905 |
Polymers of vinyl acetate/other vinyl esters (in primary forms) |
44 |
4,404 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
| |
10 Products Total |
3,348 |
175,626 |
60.6 |
29.9 |
| |
Total Plastics Sector |
5,524 |
586,420 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
5-Year Average Export Prices for 10 Products - Turkey and World Comparison (USD/kg)
| HS CODE |
Product Group |
Turkey |
World |
| 3922 |
Plastic baths, showers, washbasins, toilet seats and fittings |
4.3 |
16.0 |
| 3921 |
Other plastic sheets, films, foil and laminated sheets |
3.0 |
13.0 |
| 3924 |
Plastic tableware, kitchenware and other household articles, toilet articles |
3.0 |
11.8 |
| 3917 |
Plastic tubes, pipes, hoses; seals, fittings, connectors etc. |
2.6 |
9.6 |
| 3925 |
Plastic building materials |
2.6 |
9.7 |
| 3923 |
Plastic articles for goods transport; caps, closures, capsules |
2.5 |
9.6 |
| 3916 |
Plastic monofilament, rods, profiles-cross-section exceeding 1 mm |
1.8 |
4.3 |
| 3909 |
Amino resins, phenolic resins, polyurethanes (in primary form) |
1.3 |
2.6 |
| 3906 |
Acrylic polymers (in primary form) |
1.2 |
2.1 |
| 3905 |
Polymers of vinyl acetate/other vinyl esters (in primary forms) |
0.9 |
2.3 |
| |
Average Price for 10 Products |
2.3 |
6.0 |
| |
Total Plastics Sector Average Price |
2.4 |
3.0 |
5-Year Average Growth Rate of Exports for 10 Products - Turkey and World Comparison (CAGR %)
| HS CODE |
Product Group |
Turkey |
World |
| 3909 |
Amino resins, phenolic resins, polyurethanes (in primary form) |
8.3 |
2.3 |
| 3905 |
Polymers of vinyl acetate/other vinyl esters (in primary forms) |
5.8 |
1.3 |
| 3923 |
Plastic articles for goods transport, caps, closures, capsules |
5.4 |
2.0 |
| 3924 |
Plastic tableware, kitchenware and other household articles, toilet articles |
2.5 |
3.6 |
| 3906 |
Acrylic polymers (in primary form) |
1.2 |
1.0 |
| 3921 |
Other plastic sheets, films, foil and laminated sheets |
1.1 |
1.7 |
| 3922 |
Plastic baths, showers, washbasins, toilet seats and fittings |
-3.1 |
3.1 |
| 3925 |
Plastic building materials |
-7.1 |
3.3 |
| 3916 |
Plastic monofilament, rods, profiles-cross-section exceeding 1 mm |
-7.7 |
2.0 |
| 3917 |
Plastic tubes, pipes, hoses; seals, fittings, connectors etc. |
-12.1 |
2.4 |
Share of 10 Products' Exports in Global Exports
| HS CODE |
Product Group |
% Share |
| 3916 |
Plastic monofilament, rods, profiles-cross-section exceeding 1 mm |
5.7 |
| 3922 |
Plastic baths, showers, washbasins, toilet seats and fittings |
3.0 |
| 3917 |
Plastic tubes, pipes, hoses; seals, fittings, connectors etc. |
2.7 |
| 3925 |
Plastic building materials |
2.3 |
| 3924 |
Plastic tableware, kitchenware and other household articles, toilet articles |
2.2 |
| 3923 |
Plastic articles for goods transport, caps, closures, capsules |
1.7 |
| 3921 |
Other plastic sheets, films, foil and laminated sheets |
1.6 |
| 3906 |
Acrylic polymers (in primary form) |
1.4 |
| 3905 |
Polymers of vinyl acetate/other vinyl esters (in primary forms) |
1.0 |
| 3909 |
Amino resins, phenolic resins, polyurethanes (in primary form) |
0.7 |
| |
Total Share of 10 Products' Exports in World Exports |
1.9 |
| |
Turkey's Total Plastics Exports' Share in World Total Plastics Exports |
0.9 |
