Dear readers,
As the first part of the year comes to a close, some of the most
important investments have already gone into operation. As
one amongst these, the new machine installed with an investment
of 280 millions Euros at Çorlu Factory of Modern Karton, will be
operational within June. This investment with an annual capacity
of 1.030.000 tons with the coming extra 400.000 tons, will also be
a significant development for the paper sector in Turkey. Adding
to this, ?pek Ka ??t is about to realize its investment of 300 million
TL in Manisa, by increasing its production capacity by 65%. It is
planned that the mill which will start its test production in August
will increase the company’s total production amount from 100
thousand tons to 180 thousand tons.
As the investments proceed on the one hand, Turkey’s import
dependency on raw material and finding ways to decrease this
dependency continue to be issues. The report published recently
by ?stanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) shows that the production
rate in paper and paper products industry increased by 45,9%
between 2006-2013, and that it exceeds the average production
rate in the manufacturing industry production which is 32,4%. On
the other hand, the report highlights the fact that the considerable
amount of pulp and waste paper used in paper production is
supplied through import, adding that the import in this field in 2013
reached 645,1 million dollars. According to the report, while the
price of wood suitable for paper production is 20-30 dollars/ton in
the world, it is between 70-80 dollars/ton in Turkey. The exchange
rate is another factor that makes a negative effect on the producer
who is dependent on imported outside sources such as celuloid
and chemicals.
In order to minimize these problems and to improve the sector’s
current state, what ISO suggests is to keep the topic of industrial
forestry in the agenda with an increasing emphasis and to develop
a concept of environment- and health-friendly products.
With our sincere wishes that these important considerations will
find their place in law and be operational in practice.