For many years, Turkey has been holding a leading position in the borates industry. Now emerging as one of the prime ceramics raw materials suppliers, for its fast growing domestic market, & for the European market. Just as the Turkish barytes industry has recovered from a strong decline in the early 1990s, it is likely to be suffering from the oil crisis in 1999. Elsewhere, following the privatisation of the last refractories producers, the refractories market has become much more competitive. The plummeting global steel industry is bringing tough times for refractories producers. Today's Turkish mineral industry seems to be affected much more by external factors, than by domestic ones. For this reason, the short-term looks gloomy, but as the global economy later recovers, Turkey will be ready to take advantage of the sound state of its mineral industry.
