Ömer Karadeniz, Chairman of the Federation of Plastic Industrialists (PLASFED), stated that the difficulties faced by manufacturers in accessing finance have seriously increased: “Turkish manufacturers experiencing a capital shortage are now at a point where they may reduce production. If this current problem persists, the risk of production in the industry will escalate to an alarming level. If this trend continues, our export figures, which showed an increase last year, will face a serious decline in the coming periods.”
Manufacturers Expect Support for Accessing Finance
Ömer Karadeniz stated that businesses with rapidly eroding profit margins are expecting credit support to meet their capital needs and to continue production: “Our industrial sectors, particularly the plastic sector, which is dependent on raw materials from abroad and wants to maintain production and employment, are waiting for support in accessing finance. Today, many of our manufacturers are stating that they are facing difficulties in accessing finance and are unable to produce. On the other hand, manufacturers are also facing qualified labor loss due to the EYT and are unable to foresee the future due to the uncertainty regarding the costs and conditions of KGF support related to the payments they will make to employees applying for EYT.”
New Investments Are Essential for Maintaining Competitive Power
Ömer Karadeniz expressed that investments directed towards production and industry are the most significant factor in sustaining the country’s economy: “Manufacturers who are significantly affected by the rise in energy costs are suffering from an inability to produce and invest. In an industry where the raw material is insufficient due to lack of investment, manufacturers are in a position where they cannot compete. Today, many manufacturers who want to continue production and invest are still unable to access finance. Our industry, which has been rising in exports in recent years, has been unable to realize its potential in exports due to the problems faced in accessing finance. If manufacturers who want to escape dependency and wish to produce and invest more are not provided access to finance, our exports will also be negatively affected.”
We Communicate the Access to Finance Issues to All Institutions
Ömer Karadeniz, as the umbrella organization PLASFED – Federation of Plastic Industrialists, stated that they have conveyed the issue of accessing finance to many institutions: “We are communicating this serious issue faced by our manufacturers to all high-level institutions to avoid facing worse outcomes. Last week, we visited various officials such as our TİM President Mr. Mustafa Gültepe, IKMİB President Mr. Adil Pelister, IDDMİB President Mr. Çetin Tecdelioğlu, and Istanbul Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exporters Union President Mr. Erkan Özkan, to discuss the difficulties our manufacturers are facing one by one. We discussed what kind of solutions we can produce together on common problems. We have received assurances from our Presidents of Exporters Unions that our discussions and joint struggle will continue in the future as well. On this occasion, I would like to thank our Presidents again. As PLASFED – Federation of Plastic Industrialists, we always say that ‘Strength comes from unity’; the more united we are, the stronger our industry will be. Let’s be a whole as much as we can.”
Translated by Artificial Intelligence
