Turkey becomes biggest EMEA PU producer in 2023

Turkey has become the biggest polyurethane producer in the EMEA region, overtaking Poland in 2023, flexible polyurethane foam industry association Europur said today at the Utech Europe conference in Maastricht.

The EMEA region's polyurethane (PU) production fell by 2.9pc to 5.9mn t in 2023, after having fallen by 5.1pc in 2022, consulting firm IAL said at the conference.

Within that, output from western Europe, the largest producing region, fell most, while production in the Middle East grew well from a small base. Overall regional production is expected to be flat this year, IAL said.

PU flexible foam makes up around 33pc of the market in the EMEA region, IAL said, with rigid foam making up another 33pc. Elastomers, coatings, adhesives, sealants and binders make up the remainder.

The European PU flexible slabstock foam market is set to fall by 10pc this year, Europur president Bart ten Brink said, driven by a drop in consumer demand for furniture and mattresses. But Argus has learned that early indicators suggest that the fall in demand may stabilise in the second half of the year, slowing the downward trend.

Price instability in Europe has increased the shift away from Europe and towards China, ten Brink said. "We as an industry need stability in terms of supply and price," making an appeal to the upstream for more stability.

By Catherine Rabe and Laura Tovey-Fall