It is not too long before the 23rd edition of "Plast Eurasia" (www.plasteurasia.com) gets underway 5-8 December at Istanbul's Tüyap Fair Convention and Congress Center.

Organisers of the annual event, Tüyap (www.tuyap.com.tr), in cooperation with the Turkish plastics industry foundation, Pagev (www.pagev.org.tr), say that 85% of the available exhibition space in the nine halls and 90,000 m² set aside for the fair has been booked. The 2012 event hosted 1,085 companies from 43 countries and recorded 38,726 visitors from 86 countries, which was a 23% increase over 2011 (see Plasteurope.com of 11.01.2013). Organisers from Tüyap say they are looking to top the 40,000 plateau for 2013.

Turkey has become an attractive market due to high production and labour costs in Europe with new investments in machinery, chemicals, raw materials, sub-industries heading to Turkey with its technical infrastructure and logistic advantages. Earlier this year, it was reported that though many regions and areas of the EU plastics industry had been heavily impacted by the pressures of the 2012 eurozone troubles, the Turkish polymers sector had been delivering consistently high growth rates. Though experts were predicting a little tarnish for the country's shiny image in 2013 as a result of the sluggish world economy, they were still forecasting the country's plastics processing industry to remain dynamic enough in 2013 for it to surpass Italy and become the European market's second-largest market – see Plasteurope.com of 06.02.2013.

One day prior to Plast Eurasia, Pagev's "VIII. Turkish Plastics Industry Congress – Plastic Applications for Food Industry" will take place, 4 December, in Istanbul (see Plasteurope.com of 23.05.2013).