Turkey Set for Strong Participation at Interpack 2026 and PLMA 2026

The Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), representing Turkey's chemical sector's export strength on international platforms, successfully organized national participation for Interpack 2026 and PLMA's World of Private Label 2026, two of the world's leading trade fairs held in May.

Turkish companies participating in the fairs through İKMİB organization presented their products in packaging, private label, cosmetics, cleaning, food and plastics sectors to international buyers, while gaining the opportunity to promote Turkey's production capacity and export potential on a global scale.

Turkey Becomes Fourth Country with Highest Number of Participants at Interpack 2026
The Turkish national participation organization for Interpack 2026, held between 7-13 May 2026 in Düsseldorf, Germany, and recognized as one of the world's most prestigious packaging sector events, was organized by İKMİB for the third time this year.

Under the national participation scheme, 43 companies exhibited at the fair, while Turkey was represented by a total of 286 companies including 243 individual participants. With this number, Turkey rose to the position of the fourth country providing the highest participation in the fair.

The fair hosted over 170,000 visitors from 169 countries, with a total of 2,866 companies from 55 countries participating. Turkish companies showcased plastic, carton and metal packaging products as well as packaging and wrapping machines throughout the fair, presenting the sector's production capacity and export strength to international visitors.

During the fair, Turkish Consul General in Düsseldorf Ali İhsan İzbul, Turkish Trade Attachés in Düsseldorf Pınar Aslan and Dilara Zümreoğlu Tek, along with İKMİB Board Chairman Vefa İbrahim Aracı, İKMİB Supervisory Board Member Hakan Özhuy and İKMİB General Assembly Member Hakan Dirgeme visited the Turkish pavilion and met with participating companies.

146 Turkish Companies Participated in PLMA 2026
PLMA's World of Private Label 2026 Fair, recognized as one of the most important global organizations in the private label sector, was held on 19-20 May 2026 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. İKMİB organized Turkey's national participation in the fair for the 16th time this year.

Under the national participation scheme, 94 companies exhibited, while Turkey was represented by a total of 146 companies including 52 individual participants.

At the fair, which hosted over 18,000 visitors and more than 3,300 participating companies, Turkish firms presented their products in cosmetics, cleaning products, food and plastics sectors to international buyers and retail chains.

During the fair, İKMİB Board Chairman Vefa İbrahim Aracı, Board Members M. İmer Özer and Ender Sedat Çelik, along with TİM Delegates Sevim Öztaşkın, Hakan Hatipoğlu and Özgür Öztürk visited companies participating under the national participation scheme and held meetings with sector representatives.

Turkish Ambassador to The Hague Fatma Ceren Yazgan, Turkish Consul General in Amsterdam Mahmut Burak Ersoy, Turkish Trade Advisor to The Hague Ömer İlhan and Turkish Trade Attaché in Amsterdam Kutgün Sinal also visited the fair and met with Turkish companies.

Vefa İbrahim Aracı: "The Global Competitive Strength of Our Turkish Companies is Increasing Every Day"
In his assessment regarding Interpack 2026 and PLMA 2026 fairs, İKMİB Board Chairman Vefa İbrahim Aracı noted that the strong performance demonstrated by Turkish companies at international organizations makes significant contributions to exports, stating:

"The packaging and private label sectors hold strategic importance for our country in terms of value-added production and exports. The strong interest shown in our companies at Interpack and PLMA, among the world's most important fairs, once again demonstrated the quality, production capacity and competitive strength of Turkish manufacturers. Turkey's prominence at both fairs with high participation numbers is extremely valuable for our sector. As İKMİB, we will continue our national participation organizations with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of our companies in global markets, contributing to new business collaborations and advancing our exports further. We believe that the growth momentum in target markets, particularly Europe, will continue in the coming period."

Europe Maintains Leadership in Packaging Exports
The Turkish packaging sector has continued to increase its export performance consistently in recent years. In plastic packaging products, which constitute the sector's largest export item, exports rose from approximately USD 4.14 billion in the 2021-2025 period to USD 4.34 billion.

In 2025, the total exports of the packaging sector reached USD 7.29 billion, with plastic packaging products accounting for USD 4.32 billion of this amount. Thus, plastic packaging products alone represented 59.2% of sector exports.

Among the countries to which the sector exports the most are the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Italy and Iraq, with the European market remaining the most important export destination for the Turkish packaging sector. Particularly while the United Kingdom and Germany maintain strong positions, the growth trend in the US market is also noteworthy.