Azerbaijan’s first export polypropylene hit the road

The 5th of October 2018 has become another remarkable date in the history of the SOCAR Polymer company as the first trucks loaded with polymers from its Polypropylene plant in Sumgayit left the facility to carry Azerbaijan’s first export polypropylene to foreign markets. 170 tons of polypropylene produced at the Caucasus region’s unparalleled SOCAR Polymer plant was sent to the Turkish market. Loading of pallets with stacked polypropylene bags into long-distance transportation trucks was witnessed by Mass Media representatives invited to the SOCAR Polymer plant site in Sumgayit city. In his interview to journalists, SOCAR Polymer’s General Manager Farid Jafarov said: “The main priority for export is the Turkish market, but we also intend to export to Russia and European markets. Preliminary orders from Turkey and Russia have already been received. Our estimates show that SOCAR Polymer’s products will account for about 16% of revenues from the country's non-oil exports. Annual sales of our products will make about $350 mln. USD”. “SOCAR Polymer's Polypropylene Plant was put into operation in July this year with the participation of the Head of State and the Italian President, and today we are witnessing SOCAR Polymer proceeding to its first export to Turkey. It is common knowledge that production facilities’ orientation for export secures flowing of cash into the country, which is naturally a very significant factor for the economy”, emphasized Nazim Talibov, Director of Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park LLC. Thus, another “Made in Azerbaijan” product has reached the world market. The plan is to export 15,000 tons of polypropylene by the end of this year. A certain part of the domestic demand will also be satisfied. Designed to produce 129 polymer grades, the SOCAR Polymer plants will initially produce 10 PP and 4 HDPE grades. Using polymers as feedstock, many small and medium-size enterprises will form an industrial cluster around the SOCAR Polymer plants. With its products, the largest chemical facility in the Caucasus, SOCAR Polymer will replace $130 mln. USD worth of goods annually imported into Azerbaijan. Over the past month, it has produced more than 6,000 t of polypropylene. Polymers can be used as feedstock in light and heavy industries to manufacture textile, household, medical and construction products. Presently, the demand for our company's products is high worldwide, especially in Europe. Therefore, SOCAR Trading continues investigating the gaps in foreign markets to fill them in. The first orders executed are from Turkish companies, which is not without reason as Turkey is the second greatest importer of polypropylene after China. Mass Media representatives have well covered this event both online and in press. The video coverage can be found via the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwHTCqUd8g4