Plastic Industry Closed 2023 with Growth

The year 2023 has been very difficult for our country. We lost many people in the earthquakes that occurred in February, and those who survived are still living in very difficult conditions. We witnessed that economic conditions became increasingly difficult as a result of the elections held immediately after the earthquake and the ongoing contraction in demand in our main export markets, as well as global and regional developments.

We can say that the plastic industry is not exempt from these negative developments. When we examine the data of 2023, we see only a 1.1% increase in exports on a quantity basis, but a 7.6% decrease on a value basis. The reason for the decrease in value despite the increase in quantity was that plastic raw material prices in global markets were below the previous year. With this decrease in the value press, the direct exports of the plastics industry in 2023 amounted to 10.5 billion dollars. As it is known, the plastics industry provides intermediate input to more than 30 sectors, especially automotive. Therefore, a significant part of its exports are realized indirectly. According to our calculations, taking into account indirect exports, we can say that the exports of the plastics industry in 2023 will be approximately 16 billion dollars. On the production side of the sector, there is a more positive picture than on exports. Our analysis shows that by the end of the year, our production reached 11.9 million tons with an increase of 4.8% in quantity and 50 billion dollars with an increase of 3.3% in value.

Undoubtedly, one of the most challenging issues for our sector in this period is the difficulties in accessing finance. Unfortunately, credit opportunities have narrowed considerably, maturities have shortened and financing costs have increased. However, one of the important problems of our manufacturing industry that has been expressed for years is the weak capital structures of enterprises. When financing opportunities for businesses with weak capital structures become narrower, it is not possible for them to use their capacities to the desired extent. For this reason, it is of great importance to expand access to finance for all production sectors, especially the manufacturing industry.

We can say that global and regional developments will play a decisive role in our economic performance in 2024. In particular, the issues of how long the Red Sea crisis, which started at the end of 2023, will last, how it will be resolved and to what extent its impact on maritime transportation costs will reach, will directly affect our country's trade as well as the global trade volume. Although a year in which economic activity is slow all over the world is expected, we anticipate that new opportunities as well as threats will emerge in our country and industry. The most important agenda issue of the sector in the medium and long term is sustainability. In this process, our ability to adapt to the new regulations that have entered our lives, especially with the EU Green Deal, will be decisive for the success of our sector.