Following the recent decline in Turkey’s economic growth the domestic cement industry set about to improve its production efficiency and foster sustainable development in a sector that continues to expand as it looks forward to sustained cement demand at home and in its export markets. By Dr Tamer Saka, Turkish Cement Manufacturers’ Association, Turkey.
Although Turkey’s economy began 2018 with high growth, rising inflation caused domestic demand to fall, resulting in a significant contraction. The slowdown started to impact growth data from the 2Q18, and the contraction was sustained in the 3Q18 with a rapid decline. Overall, economic growth slowed from 7.4 per cent in 2017 to 2.6 per cent in 2018, according to the country’s statistical authority, Turkstat.