A brief look at “Turkish Cement Sector” and prospects for the future
The TURKISH CEMENT INDUSTRY began production in 1911 with 20 000 tons capacity. The production which reached 370 000 in 1950s was not enough to meet local market demand until the 1970s. The country’s cement industry, with export volumes rising every year, contributed much to the Turkish economy also providing considerable employment.
Until 2013, Turkey ranked first in the world in exportation of cement. In the following years, Iran’s increase in exports to neighboring countries as well as the deterioration in external demand conditions caused the Turkish cement sector to lose market share. In the upcoming period, it is forecasted that competition in the Middle East market will increase further, as Saudi Arabia could be a major player in the market as well.
There are a total of 70 cement factories in the sector today to include 52 integrated facilities and 18 grinding and packaging facilities and the sector employs about 15 thousand people (2015).
The Turkish cement sector, which has reached a certain level of saturation in the country, continues to spend effort in the direction of growth by going to different geographical areas. Africa is observed to be the region with the fastest increase in Turkish investments, abroad. It is expected that the Turkish cement sector will continue to grow by increasing its presence in this region both through new factory investments and acquisitions.
On the other hand a look at urban renewal projects is very important for the construction and cement sectors. This will certainly increase the demand for cement in parallel to the investments to be made for the infrastructure and similar/related construction activities in Turkey until 2023. Cement could reach 99.8 million tons while consumption is expected to reach 78.9 million tons by that time.
Editor, BTT
