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Taipei, Taiwan - A memoriam of understanding (MOU) between the Turkish Plastics Industry Association (PAGEV) and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) was signed the first day of Taipei Plas 2012 (Sept. 21-25; Nangang Exhibition Hall).

Heather Caliendo

October 4, 2012

2 Min Read
Turkey and Taiwan plastics industries sign MOU

) and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) was signed the first day of Taipei Plas 2012 (Sept. 21-25; Nangang Exhibition Hall).

The MOU means that the organizations will help promote one another's events and help to build contacts between the industries in both countries. PAGEV had organized a trade delegation from Turkey that was present at Taipei Plas.

At the ceremony, Jeremy Horng, executive director of TAITRA's exhibition department, the association that organizes Taipei Plas, said that Turkey is one of the top 10 countries for Taiwanese plastic and rubber machinery exports.

PAGEV president and executive director Mehmet Uysal said that Turkey's plastic industry spends about $700 million a year on equipment, with about 90% of it exported. Taiwan exports about $32 million worth of equipment to Turkey per year.

"We believe the cooperation between Taiwan and Turkey will increase," he said.

Horng said Turkey is a big market for Taiwan.

"Turkey has always been a good friend to Taiwan," Horng said. "We hope this will further cooperation between our two countries. PAGEV is an excellent partner for us as they also are actively involved in vocational training, exhibitions, seminars and conferences."

The Turkish plastics industry grew by 15% in 2011 and 17% in 2010. However, growth forecast is 10% for 2012.

Turkey has a population of more than 77 million people, while Taiwan has a population of about 23 million.

Founded in 1989, PAGEV operates with more than 400 companies and helps to organize the annual Plast Eurasia Istanbul, which will be held this Nov. 29 - Dec. 2 at TÜYAP Fair Convention and Congress Center in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey's packaging sector

The annual consumption of packaging is about 5.5 million tonnes/year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. Plastic packaging represents about 33% of packaging products consumption.

The plastic packaging sector in Turkey has a total production of 1.8 million tonnes/year. Most of the companies in the sector are small and medium sized.

Exports of the Turkish packaging industry are on the rise, the report stated. While exports tallied $50 million in 1990, the value of packaging products exports reached almost $3.1 billion dollars in 2011. Additionally, a large quantity of packaging products is exported indirectly along with the exported product itself.

The main plastic packaging products exported are flexible intermediate bulk containers. Turkey is the world's second largest exporter of FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers) with an 18.3% share in 2009. The other plastic packaging products exported are polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polyethylene sheets and films, as well as PE bags, sacks, lids, stoppers, caps and other closures, plus bottles, flasks, and preforms.

Turkey exports various packaging products to 200 countries throughout the world.

The major markets for its packaging products are Germany, the United Kingdom, Iraq, France, Iran, the Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Russian Federation and Romania.

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