China Gains Ground Across Turkey’s Polymer Imports Despite Overall Market Decline

China strengthened its presence across several of Turkey’s polymer import markets in July, even as the country’s total polymer imports dropped to an eight-month low. China became Turkey’s third-largest overall polymer supplier with an 11% share, behind Saudi Arabia and the US. Its growing role was particularly evident in PP, PE, PVC and EPS, extending beyond its established strength in PET.

China Climbs Sharply in PP Rankings

China recorded a notable improvement in the PP market. Its share of combined PPH and PP copolymer imports increased to 6% in July from 1% a year earlier, moving the country from 20th to sixth place among suppliers.

China also ranked as Turkey’s fourth-largest homo-PP supplier, holding a 7% share, behind Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kazakhstan. This rise came despite Turkey’s overall PP imports falling below 200,000 tons, their lowest level since February, making China’s improved ranking more significant.

Stronger Presence in PE and PVC

China also advanced in PE imports, moving from 19th place in July 2025 to fifth in July 2026 as its market share increased by 3 percentage points year on year. It ranked fourth in LDPE imports with a 12% share, while the US, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Uzbekistan remained key suppliers across the wider PE market.

In PVC, China became Turkey’s second-largest supplier with a 12% share, behind only the US. This was despite overall Turkish PVC imports falling to their lowest monthly level since November 2025.

China Expands Role in Styrenics

China's stronger presence also extended to styrenic polymers. It supplied 16% of Turkey’s PS imports, 13% of EPS and 14% of ABS. China ranked second in both PS and ABS, behind Belgium and South Korea respectively, while it was the third-largest EPS supplier, following Austria and Russia.

July Volumes Highlight the Increase

Recent import data show how unusual the July increase was. Turkey's homo-PP imports from China remained between 1,000 and 3,000 tons during July in 2022-2025, but rose to 10,000 tons in July 2026.

PE imports from China had also remained around 1,000 tons or less in previous years before climbing to nearly 7,000 tons this July. Meanwhile, Turkey imported almost 9,000 tons of PVC from China, nearly twice the volume recorded in July last year.

Although these volumes remain small compared with shipments from major suppliers such as Saudi Arabia and the US, the increase suggests that Middle East war-related supply disruptions encouraged Turkish buyers to source more Chinese cargoes than usual.

Supply Disruptions Created a Temporary Opportunity

The rise in Chinese imports does not necessarily signal a lasting change in Turkey’s sourcing patterns. China is generally not a major polymer supplier to Turkey because of the disadvantage of long-distance freight costs.

Instead, the increase appears linked to an unusual market situation earlier this year. Oversupply in China, particularly in PP and PVC, led to aggressively priced cargoes, while war-related disruptions reduced availability from some traditional Turkish suppliers. This temporarily created an opportunity for Chinese producers to place additional volumes in Turkey.

However, this opportunity has since narrowed. Chinese offers became less visible from late Q2 onward, as unfavorable freight rates to Turkey and weaker netbacks reduced exporters’ incentive to target the market. As a result, the higher July imports likely reflect cargoes booked earlier rather than the start of a sustained new trade flow.

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