On Wednesday, April 29, 2020, the T.O.B.B. Turkey Plastic, Rubber, and Composite Industry Council Meeting was held via the Zoom application.
During the meeting, economic measures taken against the COVID-19 pandemic, and the association of these measures with the plastic, rubber, and composite sectors were discussed. With the contributions of council members, the impact of the pandemic on the sector and the process of economic recovery were evaluated.
Our PLASFED President Ömer Karadeniz, who started his speech by thanking the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and other chambers of industry and commerce in our country, as well as all Civil Society Organizations, stated that they persistently focused on the issue of force majeure, and that this issue was always brought up in meetings with the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and other NGOs, but the necessary response could not be obtained. Karadeniz, stating that this issue should be resolved as soon as possible, emphasized that this is a great injustice and that all manufacturing should be included in the Economic Stability and Development Measures package, with an emphasis on production and manufacturing industry in Turkey.
Ömer Karadeniz underlined that the package included issues such as the deferral of SSI, VAT, and withholding tax payments, but many of these contained obstacles for the plastic sector's use, stating, “Most importantly, almost the entire manufacturing industry, especially the plastic industry, will not be able to benefit from the support for the deferral of public financial obligations such as SSI, VAT, and withholding tax”. Ömer Karadeniz also touched upon the short-time working issue, stating that the short-time working allowance should be extended to at least 6 months, the GEKAP implementation should be postponed to 2021, KGF opportunities should be further expanded to ensure access to finance for the manufacturing industry, and the importance of not associating the Covid-19 pandemic with occupational accidents should not be ignored. Karadeniz also stated that the plastic sector is one of the biggest energy-consuming sectors, and that the plastic and other sectors are going through a difficult period due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a decline expected in 2020 based on exports, and a relative recovery expected in 2021.
PAGDER President Mr. Selçuk Gülsün also took the floor at the meeting, drawing attention to the inadequacy of the country's resources and stating that entering such a difficult period with the lowest dollar reserves would cause limitations in responding to needs. Selçuk Gülsün stated that the industrialists' main concern during this period was costs, and that profitability would decrease with the reduction in revenue per unit, coupled with the difficulty of managing stocks in a declining environment.
At the end of the highly productive meeting where mutual views were shared, our PLASFED President Ömer Karadeniz, who took the floor again, stated that it is very important for NGOs to act together during this period to keep the sector afloat, and that public authorities can be approached in this way.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.