As a result the Turkish packaging industry has grown rapidly over the past 10 years and has now become a huge sector. The growth of the sector reflects changing shopping habits, particularly in the large cities with their supermarkets, department stores and hypermarkets. Increased advertisement of consumer products, attractive point-of-purchase packaging and the boom in sales of canned and frozen food, apparel, and disposable medical supplies, all of which require specialty packaging, are other factors for the expanding packaging sector.

Turkey produces all types of packaging materials and packaging products such as paper, cardboard, wrapping film, tape, plastics, glass, metals and wood. The annual consumption of packaging is about 2.7 million tons. The breakdown of packaging products consumption in Turkey is 37% for paper, carton, corrugated board and foil, 22% for metals, 20% for plastics, 13% for wood, 8% for glass.

Turkey is an exporting country; the value of its export products reached about 35 million US dollars in 2002. More than half of exports goes to the EU which has high packing norms and standards.

All these developments have resulted in a large packaging sector and a considerable demand for packaging machinery. At present the Turkish packaging machinery sector meets domestic demand and has a remarkable capacity for exports.

The Turkish packaging machinery industry produces every kind of machinery and equipment required for the packaging industry and all the parts and accessories thereof. Cleaning and drying machinery, can-sealing, container labeling, vacuum or gas packaging machines, machinery for filling, closing, sealing, labeling of bottles, cans, bags, boxes, machinery for opening, filling and closing bags, packing or wrapping machinery-including heatshrink types, weighing and labeling equipment, machines for making bags and sacks and machines for making cartons, boxes, cases or similar containers are the main packaging machinery and equipment in Turkey. The majority of packaging machinery and equipment manufacturers in Turkey range from small to medium sized companies mainly located in Istanbul.

Today, many Turkish packaging machinery manufacturers/exporters follow European and international standards and norms. Companies exporting to the European Union affix the “CE Mark” under the “New Approach” Directives.

The obligation to affix the “CE Mark” was also initiated within the Turkish market in 2002.

The Turkish packaging machinery sector largely meets the demand of the Turkish packaging sector and has recently concentrated on exports.

Turkish packaging machinery industry exports were only 8 thousand US dollars in 1996. In 2002, total exports of the Turkish packaging machinery rose to 15.7 million US dollars.

Turkish packaging machinery was exported to about 90 countries in 2002. The major markets for packaging machinery were Romania, Egypt, Italy, the Russian Federation, Germany, Iran, Greece, Israel, the United Arab  Emirates, Syria and the Czech Republic.

The products of the Turkish packaging machinery industry are exhibited in international and national fairs organised in Turkey. In 2003, major fairs that will be organised in this sector are: