Dear Readers,
As the end of 2014 approaches, significant reports shedding light onto the current status of the sector are released every day.
According to one of such by Packaging Manufacturers Association (ASD) on first 9 months of the year, packaging sector had a foreign
trade surplus in this period as an approximate of USD 225 million.
The sector increased its export 11% in the first 9 months of 2014 compared to the previous year to obtain a level of USD 2,97
billion. When sorted in types of packaging, plastic packaging is the first segment with a total export of 52% followed by paper/board
packaging export with 37%.
The 2014 report by Central Anatolian Exporters Union (OA ?B) reveals once more how much Turkish economy is open to a growth
in paper, board paper and tissue paper. The paper sector that went through a slight decline in 2012 managed to revive back in 2013
to have a total export of an approximate USD 1.1 billion. Again in 2013’s export number has been USD 3,1 billion. This difference
between export and import numbers is an apparent indicator of a growth potential Turkish paper-board industry may have in the years
to come.
Turkey is the 5th largest manufacturer in tissue paper in Europe and 12th in the world with its 600 thousand tons of production. According
to the report, tissue paper export of Turkey in 2013 has managed to go up to USD 1,1 billion which is almost equal to paper-board
export numbers. In the last five year period tissue paper export had a fluctuating trend to result in USD 115 million in 2013.
It is crystal clear that Turkey will have fast growth in global tissue paper sector due to the increasing consumption in local markets,
recent regulations in taxes and installed incentives for raw material and energy costs. This topic has been one of the subjects of
discussions at Tissue World Conference 2014 held recently in Istanbul. Turkey’s strategic importance for the region has been
emphasized during the conference where various professional from Turkey, Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, Commonwealth of
Independent States, Middle East, Central Asia and Africa have met. We wish our readers and our sector a successful 2015.