Türkiye's Import of Organic Pigment-Containing Products

Turkey's Imports of Products Containing Organic Pigments It should be noted that the annual import values cited here and their changes have been assessed through data obtained from TÜİK's Foreign Trade Statistics page. According to Turkish Customs statistics, the value of organic pigment-containing products imported into Turkey has fallen below USD 30 million from USD 44 million over the past 10 years. Organic pigment-containing products consist of items falling into group 12, which is a subgroup of customs tariff 320417. These products are mainly synthetic dyes, masterbatches and pigment pastes. However, discussions with companies indicate that some products which should be classified under group 11 of customs tariff 320417—those intended to contain pigments—have been registered under group 12. The reverse of this situation is also found to apply in the organic pigments group. Figure 1 shows annual imports, while Figure 2 presents the probable product distribution for 2021. The share of European countries has declined from 90% to 81% over 10 years, while the share of Asian countries has risen from 9% to 16%. The increase in organic pigments imported from Asian countries is considerably higher. Organic pigment-containing products are imported from 2 free zones operating in Turkey, and products brought in from these zones are also recorded under tariff 12, a subgroup of 3201417. The amount of products from free zones has decreased from USD 13 million in 2011 to USD 5.5 million today. The largest portion of this decline observed in free zones has occurred in Çorlu Europe Free Zone. Imports from Çorlu Europe Free Zone, which were at USD 13 million, have been found to have decreased below USD 5.5 million. Another decline has occurred in Atatürk Airport Free Zone. The value of products from this zone has fallen below USD 40,000 from USD 500,000. There is insufficient information about the type of product coming from this zone. Germany is the largest source, and organic pigment-containing products from Germany to Turkey have declined below USD 5 million from USD 10 million over the 10-year period. Products coming from Germany are known to be highly diverse, including primarily pigment pastes, OEM paints and masterbatch products. Belgium was the second largest supplier of organic pigment-containing products 10 years ago at USD 3.4 million. In 2021, the value of products from Belgium has been found to have decreased below USD 100,000. Similarly, the Netherlands, which exported at the USD 2.8 million level, has seen its exports decline to USD 220,000 levels. The main products sourced from these 2 countries are known to be machine color pastes and OEM paints. France and Italy, which export organic pigment-containing products at the multi-million dollar level, are seen to maintain these levels despite fluctuations. Products from these countries are understood to consist of highly varied paints and pastes, primarily masterbatches and inks. Textile dyes are predominantly imported from Portugal, where imports exceed one million US dollars. Romania has shown increasing masterbatch product imports over the past 9 years, and a significant portion of imports from there is believed to have entered as pigments rather than as products containing pigments. Masterbatch has predominantly come from Austria, and a significant portion of this is understood to have entered from the pigments group. Imports from Sweden, Norway and Finland clearly consist of intra-company sales from 2 international companies located in these 3 countries. Over the 10-year period, imports from Sweden have occasionally shown declines but reach above USD 4 million for organic pigment-containing products. Similarly, product imports from Norway and Finland were found to have exceeded one million dollars each in 2021. When comparing the share of the Far East in organic pigment-containing product imports with pigment import figures, it is seen to remain limited. Exports from China have risen from USD 1 million over the 10-year period to USD 2 million, and these exports have been found to have declined to USD 1 million levels and fluctuated in between. Unlike China, India has increased its exports of organic pigment-containing products from USD 500,000 to USD 1.5 million. Imports from both countries are predominantly estimated to be pigments that have been mistakenly registered under group 12 rather than group 11. In conclusion, while pigment production from Asian countries and consequently Turkey's organic pigment imports from these countries show significant growth, the supply of pigment-containing products from these countries has remained limited. The primary reason for this is clearly that pigment-containing products consist of more specific products and include many variations. On the other hand, it is understood that a significant portion of Europe-sourced pigment-containing products have begun to be produced domestically. This result is drawn from the fact that while import quantities of these products have decreased, imports of organic pigments have increased. Assoc. Prof. Gürses Öner Regional Sales Director Sudarshan Chemical Industries Ltd.