CLEANING MATERIALS INDUSTRY IN TURKEY

Cleaning products are essential for life and are used daily by millions of people. These

products loosen and remove soil from a surface, contribute to good personal hygiene,

reduce the presence of germs that cause infectious diseases, extend the durability of

clothes, tableware, linens, surfaces and furnishings, and make our homes and workplaces

more pleasant.

PRODUCTION

Parallel with the increase in living standards, the developments in the cleaning service

sector in Turkey and the increase in both domestic and foreign demand, the Turkish

cleaning products industry has shown a remarkable performance in terms of quality,

production capacity and variety. Since 1990, domestic and foreign investments in the

Turkish cleaning products industry have increased considerably. As a consequence,

detergent production capacity has reached 1.75 billion tons and soap production capacity

has reached 400 thousand tons. These sectors also have great export potential.

The cleaning materials industry employs 12.000 people and the industry involves around

750 companies manufacturing various cleaning materials. The majority of cleaning

materials producers is located in Istanbul, which is the largest production and trade center

in Turkey. Most of the other manufacturers are located in Izmir, Kocaeli, Gaziantep, Mersin

and Adana.

The production of cleaning products in Turkey can be grouped into four general

categories:

- Personal Cleaning Products: mainly bar soaps, gels, liquid soaps and heavy-duty hand

cleaners.

- Dishwashing Products: detergents for hand and machine dishwashing as well as some

special products. They are available as liquids, gels, powders and solids.

- Laundry Detergents: They are available as liquids, powders, gels, sprays, sheets and

bars. They are formulated to meet a variety of soil and stain removal, bleaching, fabric

softening, conditioning and disinfecting tasks.

- Household Cleaners: They are available as liquids, gels, powders, solids, sheets and

pads for use on painted, plastic, metal, porcelain, glass and other surfaces and on

washable floor coverings. Household cleaners are formulated to meet a variety of uses:

all-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, drain openers, carpet

shampoos, upholstery cleaners, etc.

The Turkish cleaning products industry also complies with world standards in terms of

quality. The number of firms which have ISO 9000 Quality System Certificates and ISO

14001 Certificates is rapidly increasing. In addition, Turkish cleaning products

manufacturers closely follow recent international and national developments in

environmental issues and comply with environmental legislation and regulations.

Most of the raw materials required for the cleaning products industry, like fatty acids, oils,

LAB, essence, etc. are met by domestic production. However, raw materials which are not

produced in Turkey like tallow oil, palm oil and some other chemicals are imported.

 
Soaps

The Turkish soap sector has a huge production and export capacity. The soap sector in

Turkey is highly developed and competitive in the international arena. Since 1990, the rate

of production in the soap industry has increased about 10% per year. The number of items

produced has increased in parallel with consumer preferences. Today, soap

manufacturers produce all types of soaps such as liquid and natural.

Since Turkey has a large variety of herbs and natural products, natural soap production is

also widespread and made by small size local companies throughout Turkey. World

famous "laurel soaps" are produced in large quantities in Mersin, Antakya and its nearby

regions. Turkey is also among the top producers of olives; therefore, olive oil soaps are

also manufactured and exported.

"Evyap Sabun", which operates its plant in Istanbul, is one of the leading companies in the

Turkish soap industry in terms of capacity, production and exports. Now, it is also one of

the leading manufacturers in the world and has the largest soap production capacity in

Europe.

The soap sector of Turkey is now an export-oriented sector. Turkish soap producers have

created their own brands, which lead to tight consumer dependence in the domestic

market, and their targets are now foreign markets.

Detergents and other Household Cleaners

In the detergent sector, 90% of the powder detergent production is realized by 9 largescale

companies and 50% of the detergent market consists of powder detergent. The rest

of the production is realized by small enterprises, which are concentrated in Southeastern

Anatolia. In liquid detergent production, along with a few big producers, there are many

small and medium sized producers.

Most of the major multinational detergent companies have their own manufacturing and

marketing facilities in Turkey. Most of the foreign investors in the detergent sector are

manufacturing through joint ventures and licensing agreements. Some of them are

Procter&Gamble, Henkel, Colgate Palmolive, Unilever, and Benciser. Additionally, there

are many domestic manufacturers, which have a large production capacity. Some of them

are Hacı Şakir, Evyap, Hayat Kimya, Dalan, Başer Kimya, Hes Kimya, Ev-Tem, Uzay,

Büyükmıhcı Kimya and Saruhanlılar.

EXPORTS

Exports of the Turkish cleaning materials industry show an increasing trend. While it was

US$ 80 million in 1992, the value of cleaning materials exports reached US$ 768 million in

2011. This remarkably high increase in export value has undoubtedly been achieved due

to the recent modernization and technological improvements realized in the sector. Within

the total export value, the total share of soaps (HS: 3401) and washing and cleaning

preparations (HS: 3402) was US$ 676 million in 2011.

Turkish cleaning products are exported to 156 countries. Major destinations in 2011 are

listed below. As indicated in the table, Iraq (share: 13,5%), Russian Federation (share:

10%) and Israel (share: 7%) are the top three export markets for the sector.

TRADE FAIRS

􀂃 Private Label and I Fast Moving Consumer Goods Fair Istanbul October 11-14, 2012

􀂃 International Beauty Eurasia Fair June 14-16, 2012 Istanbul

USEFUL ADDRESSES

􀂃 Cosmetics and Cleaning Products Industry Association
www.ktsd.org.tr/eng/index.html

􀂃 Turkish Exporters Assembly
www.tim.org.tr/en/

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