Chemical Sector, Turkey's Export Leader, Shows Strength

Chemical Export Leader Showcases Strength The Turkchem Eurasia Fair, one of the largest gatherings of Turkey's chemical sector—which has held the position of export leader for the seventh consecutive year and commands billions of dollars in global trade—concluded this year with intense industry participation. Organized by Artkim Fairs in partnership with Istanbul Convention Centre and playing an important role in Turkey's chemical industry growth through numerous national and international projects, the fair hosted 306 companies and attracted 12,075 visitors, including 2,131 from 88 countries. Serving as a meeting point for domestic and foreign sector professionals under the motto "Everything Chemical" and ranking among the world's leading chemical industry events, the 9th International Chemical Industry Fair Turkchem Eurasia ran concurrently with the 5th Interdye & Textile Printing Eurasia Fair, bringing together all stakeholders from the chemical and textile sectors in Istanbul. The Interdye & Textile Printing Eurasia Fair offered participating companies the opportunity to develop textile finishing, dyeing and printing solutions in the Eurasian region, bring together industry leaders, strengthen existing relationships and develop business connections and establish new commercial relations. The fair took place with 97 participating companies and a total of 6,577 visitors, of whom 1,268 were from abroad. Artkim Fairs Board Chairman Cengiz Yaman, who delivered the fair's opening remarks and expressed satisfaction with the strong interest, said: "On a path we embarked on 20 years ago to serve Turkey's Chemical Sector, which takes the pulse of Turkish industry, we are advancing today with the goal of making our country a global brand in the field of specialized trade fairs. Through the specialized fairs we organize, we contribute to sector stakeholders' access to international markets and the development of exports. Along these lines, our buyer delegation program will also be active at Turkchem Eurasia 2022. The buyer delegation program, which aims to increase foreign trade momentum and promote export-oriented products toward target markets and countries, will offer participating companies great potential, as it has in previous fairs," he said.

"The chemical sector is at the forefront in all developed countries"

İstanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB) Chairman Adil Pelister, noting that the chemical sector is at the forefront in all developed countries and emphasizing the importance of chemical sector development for Turkey, said: "The chemical sector, together with its 16 sub-sectors, is the main sector feeding 27 different sub-sectors. We see that the chemical sector is among the most important sectors in all developed countries. Our sector grew 37.1 percent in the first 10 months of this year and achieved TRY 28.1 billion in exports. To continue our successes, we particularly need to address the increase in energy costs. Ensuring easily accessible financing and cash flow during this period and creating a predictable environment will further strengthen our competitive advantage. We expect support to our exporters to increase in this regard. Despite everything, we will continue working to reach our 2030 export target of TRY 50 billion," he said. "We have an 80 billion dollar production capacity in textiles" Turkey Textile Finishing Industry Association (TTTSD) Chairman and Istanbul Chamber of Industry (İSO) Board Member Vehbi Canpolat, noting that dyes and chemicals form the main input for the textile sector, said: "Our country is today one of the world's top 5 textile nations. If we all fulfill our responsibilities to maintain and increase the position Turkish textiles have captured in global trade, our country will enter the top 3 in the textile sector." Canpolat noted that the Textile Finishing sector, in which Turkey is strongest with 600 companies, produces the world's most beautiful fabrics and said that Turkey is the best country at finishing cotton and viscose groups. Canpolat concluded: "As a sector, we will work together to reach even better heights. Textile dyeing is taught in India and China—we can easily do this in Turkey. This should be our greatest goal," he said.

"Improving the investment climate is crucial to reduce dependence on imports"

TOBB Chemical Industry Council Chairman Timur Erk said: "There is a large market ahead of the chemical industry in the world that is wide open for development. A new chemical market is expected to emerge that will grow threefold over the next thirty years. To capture a share of this market as Turkey and to break Turkish chemical industry's import dependency, it is particularly important to improve the investment climate to reduce reliance on foreign sources. Turkey Chemical Manufacturers Association Chairman Haluk Erceber, noting Turkey's domestic market of EUR 63 billion and pointing out that this size is among the rare examples in the world, stated that according to Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) data, the Turkish chemical sector exported around TRY 20 billion in the first 10 months, year-end exports would reach TRY 25-26 billion, but year-end imports would also be around TRY 52-53 billion. Noting that the largest portion of exports to Europe is from chemicals, Erceber continued: "The raw materials the EU sells to Turkey amount to EUR 11.7 billion. The main problem is dependence on external supply chains. This is our weak point because raw materials are sourced through imports." Participants and visitors will have access for three months through the Virtual Fair platform to all innovations and developments in "chemical industry, textile finishing, dyeing and printing solutions" presented at the Turkchem Eurasia and Interdye & Textile Printing Eurasia Fairs held on 24–26 November 2022. For detailed information: http://turkchem.com.tr and https://www.interdyeprinting.com