The year 2025, during which the escalating trade wars triggered by the change in presidency in the US created uncertainty and stagnation in the global economy, was also challenging for the Turkish manufacturing industry. Shrinking export markets and difficulties in accessing finance increased the pressure on the sector.
Kenan BENLİLER
Plastics Industrialists Association (PAGDER)
Chairman of the Board
We are leaving behind a year in which uncertainty dominated the markets due to the trade wars that emerged after the change in presidency in the US, and economic activity consequently slowed down. We hope that these conflicts in the international arena will give way to common sense in the upcoming period, allowing the global economy to enter a recovery process.
While 2025 witnessed challenging economic conditions worldwide, it was inevitable that both our country and our sector would be affected by these circumstances. We can say that the blow dealt by the trade policy pursued by the US administration to the global economy, which has not fully recovered since the pandemic, further deepened the contraction in our export markets. As a reflection of this situation, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in Europe, our main export market, continued to stay below the threshold of 50 and indicate a contraction in production, as it has since 2022. Analyses by international organizations suggest that this trend will continue next year. In this case, stimulating the domestic market and encouraging a shift towards alternative export markets will be crucial for the future of our country's manufacturing industry.
Developments in exports and production
When examining the data revealing sector performance, although some data show positive signals compared to 2024, it should not be overlooked that this situation stems from the sector's very weak performance in 2024. Nevertheless, it is a pleasing development that our sector increased its exports, both in terms of quantity and value, in the remainder of the year. We can say that a similar situation was observed on the production side. However, the sharp downward trend experienced in both exports and production after August tends to limit hopes for the future. Furthermore, it must be stated that these data do not align with the reality on the ground. While statistical data suggest that the sector's performance is improving, we see every day that market realities are different. Looking at the ranking of sectors with the most concordat applications, which I believe better reflects market realities, we see that our sector took values between 43 and 77 during the four-year period between 2020-2023, and the total number of temporary injunctions during this period was three. On the other hand, in 2024, the number of temporary injunctions for our sector increased to a record 19, and in the first nine months of 2025, it reached 21. I believe this rapidly increasing wave of concordats in our sector clearly reveals the current situation.
Access to finance and local challenges
While the course of trade wars in the coming period will play a decisive role in the performance of the global economy, it does not seem very likely that the world economy will achieve a healthy structure in 2026 either. Adding to this the difficulties in accessing finance, the high cost of financing, and currency volatility experienced in our country, it becomes harder for industrialists to foresee the future and formulate strategies. In this regard, even though the solution to problems stemming from global developments may not be in our hands, we must make a more intensive effort to solve our country-specific problems and prevent production disruptions caused by difficulties in accessing finance.
As PAGDER, just like in previous years, in 2025, we contributed to our sector members having a smooth exhibition experience by organizing individual and national participations in the world's leading fairs of our sector. In addition, our travel programs, which have now become a brand, were the programs that received the most interest from you, our sector members. Now, Plast Eurasia, the most important fair of our country and region, is opening its doors. We wish all our sector members who will participate in the fair a successful exhibition.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.