The fire after the earthquake in the Turkish port of Iskenderun lasted about two days. As a result, the infrastructure of the port was damaged, and all deliveries through it were stopped.
Asian producers of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) have already announced possible delays in exports to Turkey. Asia accounted for about 79% of Turkey’s refined TFA imports in 2022, writes Rupec.ru. According to ICIS, the largest share of Turkish imports came from South Korea (40% of the total) and China (38%).
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) producers in Turkey (Koksan and Indorama Ventures) have already declared force majeure due to disruptions in logistics. According to the AC Fuel and Energy Complex of the Ministry of Energy of Russia, Turkish PET production capacity is 1.72 million tons. In addition, earthquakes in and around the city of Gaziantep affected a number of petrochemical plants in the region, including the PET and packaging plants of Koksan.
Recall that the Koksan PET Packaging Industry plant in Gaziantep has two lines for the production of PET (bottle, fiber and film quality) with a total capacity of 432 thousand tons / year. The company’s products are oriented both to the domestic market and to export deliveries to Europe, North Africa and the USA.
According to preliminary data, PET exports from Turkey to Russia in 2022 amounted to 395 thousand tons.
