Turkey cement exports reach US$1bn in 2020

Turkey has exported nearly US$1bn of cement in 2020, amounting to 30Mt, according to Tamer Saka, the chairman of the Turkish Cement Manufacturers Association (TCMB).

"The [Turkish cement] industry is ranked first in Europe and sixth in the world in terms of both production capacity and sales," said Mr Saka. "The sector has been selling cement to important big projects in the US and they prefer Turkey because both price, quality, and service differentiate us from others," he said.

Meanwhile, Nihat Ozdemir, vice president of the TCMB, stressed that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector has been performing quite well. "During this troubled period, we could manage to sell our products to the whole world. Towards the end of 2020, all our factories are marching towards the end of the year, selling almost all of their products. I believe we will continue this success in 2021," he said.