Citric Acid, Previously Imported from China, is Now Produced in Adana

Citric acid, which is imported from China and used in many industries such as food, agriculture, metal processing, pharmaceuticals, and beverages, can now be produced in a facility established in Adana, Turkey, capable of meeting the country's annual demand.

According to the announcement by Tezcanlar Investment Inc., the chemical sector was also affected by the emergence of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in China.

The company has invested 40 million euros to build the facility in Adana Hacı Sabancı Organized Industrial Zone (AOSB), which can now prevent the importation of citric acid from China.

The production trials of the facility have started, and its opening will take place in a short period of time.

Ahmet Tezcan, the Chairman of Tezcanlar Investment Inc., expressed in the statement that citric acid is an indispensable input in many sectors of industry, especially in food, agriculture, metal processing, pharmaceuticals, and beverages. He emphasized that the factory, which will rescue Turkey from being an importer, will be operational in a short time.

Tezcan emphasized the strategic importance of the facility for Turkey and stated:

"Turkey is among the top 10 countries in the world that consume the most citric acid. Our factory in Adana has an annual production capacity of 55,000 tons, which can meet the entire citric acid demand of our country. Our facility, which is the first of its kind in Turkey and will use entirely domestic corn for production, employs more than 200 personnel. The Ministry of Industry and Technology issued a strategic investment incentive certificate for our factory investment. This incentive certificate was granted considering the high added value of the investment and the absence of domestic production of the product. With this investment, our country has reached an advanced production technology. Now, the millions of dollars we used to pay for citric acid imports will stay in our country."

- "Citric acid production facilities in China temporarily closed"

Tezcan stated that the citric acid production facilities in China, which are the main suppliers of citric acid in the global market, have temporarily closed due to COVID-19, and provided the following information:

"With this investment, our dependency on citric acid imports as Turkey will be eliminated. We have become capable of producing citric acid, which is an important import item, in our country. When making the investment decision, our most important reason was to reduce the supply risk for our producers. The outbreak in China once again highlighted the importance of this issue. Industrialists in many sectors, including food, agriculture, metal processing, pharmaceuticals, and beverages, which use citric acid as a key input, are struggling with supply problems due to the temporary closure of citric acid production facilities in China. With this investment, we have eliminated the concern of meeting the citric acid needs of our industrialists. Our industrialists can now procure this product locally from our facilities that produce it with national capabilities."