Ömer Karadeniz: “Turkey’s Oil is Its Industry and Production Power”
PLASFED Chairman of the Board Ömer Karadeniz was a guest on the “SME Platform” program, hosted by Sema Ertekin and broadcast on A Para. The program comprehensively covered the current state of the Turkish plastics industry, its production power, export performance, raw material issues, recycling policies, and the financial difficulties faced by SMEs.
Uncertainties in the global economy, rising costs, and the transformation focused on sustainability continue to determine the agenda of the plastics industry. In this process, maintaining production capacity, increasing competitive power, and taking steps to adapt to the circular economy are of critical importance for the future of the sector. Making evaluations on the SME Platform program broadcast on A Para, PLASFED Chairman of the Board Ömer Karadeniz discussed the industry's current outlook with figures and made remarkable statements on many issues ranging from production to recycling, and from petrochemical investments to access to finance.
Emphasizing that industrial production is one of the fundamental dynamics of the Turkish economy, Karadeniz stated that the PMI data released in the recent period, in particular, contains important messages for the plastics industry.
Touching upon the PMI data released by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, Karadeniz recalled that the index, which was at 45.7 in April, rose to 49.8 in May and was 47.1 in June. Pointing out that 50 is the threshold value, Karadeniz stated that the general outlook has not yet reached the desired level, but the plastics industry has performed more positively compared to other industrial sectors.
Drawing attention to the fact that the chemical, plastic, and rubber products sector was the only sector to exceed the threshold value with a PMI of 51.2 in the June data, Karadeniz said that this is a promising development for the sector.
"Banning Single-Use Plastics Is Not the Solution"
In the program, where regulations on single-use plastics in Europe were also evaluated, Karadeniz stated that the problem cannot be solved with bans, but with proper waste management.
The Chairman of the umbrella organization PLASFED, explaining that banning single-use plastics is not a solution, said, "The solution is to control, to value recycling, and to effectively implement the Deposit Return System and the Source Separation System."
Stating that the pandemic period showed the importance of hygiene to the whole world, Karadeniz drew attention to the critical role played by plastic products, especially in the fields of health and hygiene. Reminding that the need for single-use packaging and plastic products increased during the pandemic period, Karadeniz said that the importance of these products for human health should not be ignored.
Stating that Turkey has taken important steps regarding recycling, Karadeniz noted that the widespread adoption of the Deposit Return System (DRS) would make significant contributions to the protection of the environment and the economy.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.