European light bulb ban to affect Turkey

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Turkey, a major light bulb importer, will feel the impact of the European ban.

A ban on the usage of Edison-type lightbulbs in Europe that is to come into effect on Sept. 1 is expected to negatively affect the Turkish market because of the country’s dependency on imports of the product. 

Tekfen, the one-time sole producer in the country, closed its bulb plant in 2002, replacing it with imports from China. Global players such as General Electric and Philips also closed their Turkey plants in the early 2000s.

The ban is designed to protect the environment as Edison-style lightbulbs release carbon dioxide and are not considered to be energy efficient. As part of the measures, the production, sale and export of 100- and 75-watt lightbulbs will be prohibited. 

As a result of the ban, the price of energy-saving LED lightbulbs, the latest technology, is expected to go up in Turkey as the country, which has a $350 million-400 million lightbulb market, imports most of its lightbulbs.

With the new ban, Europe is hoping to conserve 40 billion kilowatts of energy per year and lower carbon dioxide emissions to 15 million tons.

Cem Çetinalp owner of Cempa, a local company that imports lightbulbs, told Anatolia news agency that old habits were dying hard, noting that 100-watt lightbulbs were the most common in the Turkish market. 

“The ban on Edison-type light bulbs will increase the price of energy-saving and LED products. This, in turn, will affect the end users,” he said.