Turkish tissue paper producers are ramping up production and buying increasing amounts of pulp on the international market. Alongside domestic consumption, exports of tissue products to the neighbouring region are growing steeply. TURKEY SEES STEEP GROWTH IN PULP DEMAND
MATTI REMES, photo GETTY IMAGES
In the past decades, the Turkish economy has seen its share of ups and downs, but the general trend has been upward. Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the country has an established position among the world’s 20 largest economies. Economic growth has boosted the market for paper. This is reflected especially in the demand for tissue products. “In developing economies, tissue consumption usually grows faster than the whole economy when income levels rise and consumption patterns change,” says Kustaa Laine , Vice President, Sales, at Metsä Fibre. In Turkey, paper producers have responded to the in- creasing demand by heavily boosting their tissue pro- duction. Following new investments, current production capacity of some one million tonnes is expected to increase by more than 300,000 tonnes in the next few years. “Four large paper machines will start up during 2021 and 2022, and we are also expecting to see new investment decisions to raise production capacity,” Laine adds. PULP PROCURED FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET Turkish companies import the pulp for tissue production, because the country has no pulp production of its own. Onur Pervanlar , Managing Director of G.A. Paper Tur-
key, points out that there were still Turkish pulp mills in the early 21st century, but they have since closed down. “Turkey is now fully dependent on imported pulp, and no new investments in pulp production are on the horizon. This reinforces the significance of the Turkish pulp market for international players like Metsä Fibre,” says Pervanlar. G.A. Paper sells and distributes Metsä Fibre’s pulp prod- ucts in Turkey. Pervanlar says that Turkish customers expect the same as customers elsewhere in the world. They demand things like high quality and punctual deliveries. “Customers also appreciate a variety of financing options and information about pulp market trends.” Kustaa Laine says that the state of international pulp markets is actively discussed when doing business. “As a big, global player, we can offer our own perspective and thus provide added value to customers.” LARGE PRODUCERS ARE METSÄ FIBRE’S CUSTOMERS Turkey’s tissue market is populated by numerous produc- ers of different sizes. The market is dominated by large Turkish-owned companies that usually operate two to four paper machines. “The country’s largest tissue paper producers have invested in new machines. Their production plants are
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