From its birth in the 1930s, the chemicals industry in Turkey grew during the 1950s and 1960s to service the booming textiles sector, which was crucial to the state-led economic polices of the time. Great emphasis was placed on the import substitution of bulk petrochemicals, agrochemicals and basis organic and inorganic chemicals. The industry started competing at an international level as a result of the free market reforms implemented by thenPrime Minister Turgut Ozal – he later became president during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1995, Turkey entered into a customs union with the European Union (EU) and the country was recognized as a candidate member in 2005. The World Bank describes Turkey as an “upper-middle income” country with a “dynamic emerging market economy” and a “lengthy track record of solid economic management”. Since the economic crisis of 2001, its economy has sustained significant growth, averaging 6%/year between 2002 and 2007.