Ömer Karadeniz: “Predictability in Industry Will Pave the Way for Investments”
PLASFED Chairman of the Board Ömer Karadeniz drew attention to the importance of predictability in industry for investments on the Bloomberg HT Fokus program. Karadeniz emphasized that the investment environment must be strengthened and the production capacity of industrialists must be supported.
Plastics Industrialists Federation (PLASFED) Chairman of the Board Ömer Karadeniz was a guest on Alara Akgün's program Fokus, broadcast on Bloomberg HT. Evaluating developments in the economy, changes in inflation targets, industrialists' investment decisions, and export performance, Karadeniz drew attention to the importance of predictability in industry, saying, "Our oil is our industry, our oil is our production."
Evaluating the current outlook of the Turkish economy on the program, umbrella organization PLASFED President Karadeniz stated that the decline in inflation is a positive development, but changes in targets make industrialists' investment plans difficult. Recalling that the inflation target for 2026 was announced as 16 percent at the beginning of the year, increased to 26 percent in May, and to 28 percent in August, Karadeniz pointed out the impact of these changes on investment decisions.
Emphasizing that economic targets must be predictable for industrialists to make long-term investment decisions, Karadeniz stated, "The realization of targets is very crucial. Investment programs are negatively affected by this process. We must ensure that frozen investment plans are put back into effect."
Positive trend in exports
Evaluating data regarding Turkey's export performance, Karadeniz recalled that exports reached 25.9 billion dollars in September 2026, while this figure was at the level of 22.6 billion dollars in the same period of the previous year. Stating that the increase in exports should be a source of motivation for industrialists and society, Karadeniz emphasized the importance of correctly evaluating positive developments.
Touching upon the position of the chemical sector in Turkey's exports, Karadeniz stated that the sector's exports in September were at the level of 3.07 billion dollars, and exceeded 25 billion dollars in the first nine months of the year. Stating that the chemical sector is among Turkey's leading exporting sectors after automotive, Karadeniz said that the plastics sector also assumes an important role within this structure.
Strategic role of the plastics sector in exports
Emphasizing that the plastics sector is one of the locomotive areas of the chemical industry, Karadeniz recalled that the sector realized 9.5 billion dollars in exports in 2025. Stating that direct plastics exports are expected to exceed 10 billion dollars in 2026, Karadeniz expressed that the export contribution provided by the sector to the country's economy together with indirect exports has reached over 16 billion dollars.
In Karadeniz's evaluations on the Bloomberg HT Fokus program, the protection of production capacity, the acceleration of investments once again, and the support of the competitive power of exporting sectors stood out as prominent headings.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.