Packaging Industry Sets Sights on Europe

Packaging Sector Targets Europe According to ASD statement, the packaging sector, which completed last year with USD 7.5 billion in exports, aims to concentrate on Europe, its largest market. Ambalaj Sanayicileri Derneği Chairman Zeki Sarıbekir, whose views are included in the statement, said that recession and inflation in Europe, as well as the war between Russia and Ukraine, have changed the route regarding packaging supply, and that Turkey faces a major opportunity. He noted: "During crisis periods, countries look for new suppliers in nearby geographies to reduce their costs. Europe is far from China but next to Turkey. The Turkish packaging sector faces a major opportunity. Our growth process always happens during these crises. After all, we are suppliers, but think of it this way: if a company is satisfied with supply, when you go to sell them products, they don't want to change their supplier. They are satisfied with quality, satisfied with service, satisfied with price, but during crisis periods, European customers say 'We need to reduce our costs' and they start searching again. Costs and prices that were not questioned before start to be questioned. Turkey's packaging exports are USD 7.5 billion annually, and 60 percent of this goes to Europe. Despite this, as a packaging sector, we can only meet 10 percent of Europe's packaging needs. We can increase this to 20 percent, in which case our exports to Europe alone would reach USD 10 billion." Sarıbekir, pointing out that Turkey is a very important country in the packaging sector and sits price-wise between China and Europe, said they will concentrate on the US market, which they have identified as their target market after Europe. Pointing out that packaging does not pollute the environment, and conversely provides great benefits to the environment through proper collection and recycling, Sarıbekir stated that all types of packaging can be recycled provided they are 'single-layer'. Emphasizing the importance of proper waste collection, Sarıbekir said: "In Europe, municipalities hold tenders. There is a different bag every day. One day blue for plastics, one day red for metals, one day brown for household waste. We can do this in Turkey too. The 'Zero Waste Project' is an excellent project but it needs more support." he said. Source