Cosmetics Sector Meets European Companies in Budapest

Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB) organized a "Sectoral Trade Mission" for the cosmetics sector. At the event, which brought together 29 buyer companies from 17 different countries, 15 Turkish companies operating in the cosmetics sector conducted a total of 298 bilateral business meetings. The sectoral trade mission, organized by İKMİB to increase cosmetics sector exports, took place between 19-22 March in Budapest, Hungary, with the participation of Murat Ertekin, Head of Department at the Ministry of Commerce's Export General Directorate, Trade Expert Osman Erşahan and 15 Turkish companies operating in the cosmetics sector. On Monday, 21 March, Republic of Turkey Trade Counselors Ayşe Başak Araslı Akyol and Meral Şengül met with the participating companies.

298 bilateral business meetings held

A total of 298 bilateral business meetings were conducted during the three-day event, which was attended by a combined 44 Turkish and European companies and focused on new business cooperation opportunities. In the bilateral business meetings, Turkish companies met with buyers and suppliers from 17 European countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Norway, Poland, Latvia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, France, Czech Republic, Spain, Croatia and Russia.

"We believe the sectoral trade mission will be beneficial for establishing new business partnerships"

İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister, noting that as the umbrella organization of the chemical sector, they carry out various activities to enable member companies to access global markets and increase exports, stated: "Within the scope of the sectoral trade mission for our cosmetics sector held between 19-22 March, we brought together our 15 Turkish companies participating in the mission with 29 European buyers in Budapest. Due to the pandemic, we are returning to conducting our sectoral trade mission organizations in physical form after carrying them out digitally. During the pandemic period, we first conducted a digital sectoral mission targeting the paints and adhesives sector in Colombia. We are pleased to conduct our sectoral trade mission for the cosmetics sector in physical form. Within the scope of the program, a total of 298 bilateral business meetings were held with European business professionals operating in the cosmetics sector. We believe that the sectoral trade mission and organizations such as the Ur-Ge project will have significant benefits for establishing new business partnerships. New connections will also contribute to increased exports in the sector," he said.

"The Chemistry Technology Center will contribute to sustainable sector growth"

Evaluating export figures to European countries, Pelister said: "We see that in 2021, our chemical sector achieved exports worth USD 9.99 million to European countries. Our exports to European Union countries accounted for 39 percent of our total exports. In our cosmetics sector, exports in 2021 reached USD 1.87 billion, of which 21 percent went to Europe. This year, our cosmetics and cleaning products sector's exports in the first two months reached USD 317 million. We foresee approximately 10 percent growth in sector exports by year-end. We are continuing our work to establish the Chemistry Technology Center (KTM), which will be Turkey's first facility, where our sector exporters can obtain the international certifications and test reports they need, particularly for exports to Western countries such as Europe, faster and at more reasonable costs. With the KTM, we will contribute to sustainable growth in our sector," he said.