The year 2025, in which trade wars escalated with the presidential change in the US, creating 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 Manufacturers Association (PAGDER)
Chairman of the Board
We are leaving behind a year where uncertainty dominated the markets due to the trade wars that emerged after the presidential change in the US, and consequently, economic activity slowed down. In the upcoming period, we hope that these conflicts in the international arena will give way to common sense, and the global economy will enter a recovery process.
While the year 2025 witnessed difficult 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 implemented 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 remain below the threshold value 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 the sector's 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 in both exports and production after August limits hopes for the future. Furthermore, it must be stated that the data in question do not align with the field. While statistical data suggest that the sector's performance is progressing positively, we see every day that market realities are different. When we look at the ranking of sectors with the most concordat applications, which I believe better reflects market realities, we see that our sector received values between 43 and 77 in 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 reveals the current situation.
Access to finance and local challenges
Although the trajectory of trade wars in the coming period will play a decisive role in the performance of the world economy, it does not seem very possible for the global economy to achieve a healthy structure in 2026 either. In addition to this situation, when you add the difficulties in accessing finance, the high cost of financing, and currency volatility experienced in our country, it becomes difficult for industrialists to see ahead and determine strategy. In this context, while the solution to problems caused by global developments may not be in our hands, we must make a more intensive effort to solve country-specific problems and prevent production disruptions caused by access to finance.
As PAGDER, just like in previous years, in 2025, we contributed to our sector members having a smooth fair experience by organizing individual and national participations in the leading fairs of our sector worldwide. In addition, our travel programs, which have now become a brand, were the most popular programs among 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 fair.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.