Yücelik, in his statement, evaluated the production, sales and export figures for 2022 and said that they continued to support the region in order to heal the wounds quickly after the earthquake disaster that took place in Kahramanmaraş on February 6th.
Pointing out that last year could not be considered as a productive year due to the negative reflections of the COVID-19 epidemic and the negative effects of the Ukraine-Russia War, Yücelik stated that the cement industry completed 2022 with a contraction in domestic and foreign sales, with the effect of the shrinkage in the construction sector.
“25.1% of cement was exported”
Yücelik stated that the industry, which operates with 77 cement factories in Turkey, directly employs 17,500 people, and made the following assessment regarding the production and sales figures of the industry in 2022:
“Our industry started 2022 with a decline in the domestic market and an increase in exports, after 2021, when it experienced a growth of about 6 percent. The domestic sales of our members decreased by 9.3 percent to 54 million 610 thousand tons in 2022. About 25.1 percent of the cement produced last year was exported. “It was 27.2 million tons. 18.7 million tons of this export was cement, 8.5 million tons of clinker. The downward trend in exports continues in 2023.”
Stating that the cement industry reached a capacity of 119 million tons in 2022 with the investments made and the capacity utilization rate is 65%, Yücelik said, “When we look at our capacity utilization rate in 2022, we continue to produce under the installed capacity. Although we see that the developments in both the domestic and foreign markets still do not reflect our real potential, I believe that our industry will achieve greater success in the coming period. As the industry, we are the world’s 5th largest and Europe’s leading manufacturer with 2022 figures. With a production capacity of 119 million tons, we are sufficient for Turkey and the world.”
“We are signing the foundation of the USA”
Yücelik pointed out that the industry mostly exports cement to the USA and the Middle East, and said:
“I would especially like to open a parenthesis to the US market. Turkey’s cement exports to the USA increased by 35 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, reaching 9.8 million tons. 50 percent of our country’s cement exports were made to the USA. As you know in the USA “We are renovating the aging infrastructures in the last period. With our high quality products and our success in logistics, we are also laying the foundations of the USA with Turkish cement.”
