Ömer Karadeniz, President of PLASFED, participated in the Fokus program hosted by Reyhan Baysan on Bloomberg HT. Evaluating the recent developments in the Turkish economy from an industrial perspective, Karadeniz emphasized that the biggest problem facing producers is the difficulty of access to financing. Expressing that investments have come to a standstill, Karadeniz stated, "We can overcome these difficulties through production. We must place production at the center of industrial policies."
The Chairman of the Plastics Industry Federation (PLASFED), Ömer Karadeniz, joined the Fokus program presented by Reyhan Baysan on Bloomberg HT to assess the latest developments in the economy from an industrialist perspective. Karadeniz noted that expectations for 2025 are positive, but stated that the biggest problem facing producers is the difficulty of accessing financing.
Karadeniz identified rising financing costs and the inability to access credit as the primary issues for manufacturers and expressed that investments in the real sector have largely halted. He pointed out that especially firms operating in the manufacturing industry cannot obtain loans due to high interest rates and the reluctance of banks.
“Investment appetite has decreased”
Expressing that the appetite for investment has decreased, Karadeniz stated, “Access to finance must be facilitated to ensure a balance of payments. Otherwise, industrial investments will be adversely affected.” He also highlighted that energy costs pose significant pressure on the sector, stressing that for energy-intensive sectors like plastics, this situation has become unsustainable. Karadeniz pointed out that energy prices have rapidly increased in recent years, stating, “The upward movement of the exchange rate has prevented the decrease in energy prices from being reflected to the industrialists.”
“PMI data is alarming”
Karadeniz mentioned that there has been a significant contraction in the industry, which is also reflected in the PMI reports. He noted that the data, which has been below the threshold value of 50 for the last 13 months, indicates a contraction in production, saying, “These figures show that there is no investor appetite left. We need to rejuvenate our investment environment.”
“Turkey could be a production hub”
Emphasizing the need to support industrialists, Karadeniz stated that Turkey has the potential to become a global production hub. He explained, “In the context of the trade tensions between China and the US, Turkey could gain an advantage. If we support production, we could rank highly in the world, just as in Europe. The plastics sector already ranks second in Europe after Germany and is positioned between sixth and seventh globally.”
“Mandatory sales ratio is challenging for industrialists”
Criticizing the Central Bank's recent decision requiring 35% of export earnings to be sold, Karadeniz stressed that this practice negatively impacts exporters. He indicated that China provides more incentives to support its exporters and offers currency advantages, stating, “Exporting firms here are forced to sell a larger portion of their revenue to the Central Bank. This weakens the desire for production and export. We must place production at the center of industrial policies. Just like in all developed countries, we need to prioritize three things: production, production, production… Inflation must be brought under control, products with high added value should be targeted, and the manufacturing industry must be strengthened. Turkey has the potential to achieve this.”
Translated by Artificial Intelligence
