Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Council came together to discuss the problems of “Evaluation of the Casting Sector and Cost Increases” and “Preparation of Sector Report” and to evaluate the preparatory work of the “Casting Council Sector Report.”

In his opening speech, S. Zeki Murzioğlu shared with the Council Members the work TOBB has done on behalf of the Council since the last Council meeting and the meetings and initiatives taken in accordance with the decision taken at the last meeting. He explained the licensing problem of casting sand mines, the results of the sectoral GTIP study, the problem of imported used molds / models, and the initiatives made by TOBB on the domestic production of the main raw material production.

Stating that the license problem of casting sand mines is still among the sector problems that cannot be solved, Murzioğlu stated that the Ceramics and Refractory Industry Council, which shares the same problem with the Foundry Industry Council, works jointly and TOBB follows the process by taking the necessary initiatives.

In his speech, Council President Uğur Kocaoğlu shared with the Council Members what has been done since the last meeting regarding the working issues discussed by the Council.

Stating that the tendency to supply products from geographies closer to the Far East with the pandemic process, as well as the decision of many foundries in Europe to stop or reduce their activities as a result of financial difficulties, played an important role in accelerating the sector's exports, Kocaoğlu added that approximately 50 percent of the sector's investments were aimed at capacity increase.

Kocaoğlu said that due to the sector's dependence on imports of raw materials, fluctuations in exchange rates greatly affect the production costs of foundries. He said that the price decreases, which are now seen after the prices of the main raw materials such as iron and aluminum, as well as consumables such as ferro alloys, other alloys and resin increased rapidly on a foreign currency basis, continue to impose additional financial burdens on foundries due to agreements made at high prices and stocks kept.

Kocaoğlu stated that the ratification of the European Green Deal Action Plan and the Paris Climate Agreement also brought important responsibilities to industrialists in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint; He emphasized that it is important for metal foundries, casting buyers and foundry suppliers to develop common solutions for the future of the sector.

Council Advisor Koray Hatipoğlu made an informative presentation to the Council about “Evaluation of the Casting Sector and Cost Increases” and “Casting Council Sector Report”.

Hatipoğlu emphasized that the creation of sectoral GTIP, which has been on the agenda for a long time, has resulted positively with the work carried out with the Ministries after the activities of the Workgroup established within the Council, and that the sector's exports have been easier to follow since the beginning of the year.

Among other issues on the agenda, he shared information about the EU Green Deal and the Carbon Regulation Mechanism at the Border, which will significantly affect the sector's exports, and the work carried out within the scope of the “Law on the Duty of Care of Companies in the Supply Chain” to be enacted by Germany at the beginning of the year.

The meeting ended after the Council Members evaluated the agenda.