The two umbrella organizations of the cement industry, TÜRKÇİMENTO and the Cement Industry Employers’ Association (ÇEİS), made a joint statement on the discussions in the media regarding cement prices and the cost increases in the cement industry.
TÜRKÇİMENTO, the umbrella organizations of the cement industry, and the Cement Industry Employers’ Union (ÇEİS) made a joint statement to inform the public about the discussions in the media regarding cement prices and the cost increases in the cement industry. The statement said: “As of the end of 2020, with 76 facilities, 55 of which are integrated, and with a capacity of approximately 115 million tons, the institutions in the Turkish cement industry, which is Europe’s largest and the world’s fifth largest producer, are strategic institutions that never cease to produce added value for our country even during the pandemic period. The convenience of targeting the sector, which is of great importance, in periodical developments should be abandoned.” Based on the fact that the share of cement in the entire cost of a first class building is approximately 3%, the following statement was made: “Associating price increases in the construction sector with the cement sector does not reflect the truth.”
Cement prices are well below the industry’s cost increases
In the statement of ÇEİS and TÜRKÇİMENTO, the following information was also recorded: “In July 2021, petcoke prices increased by 270%, and imported coal and electricity prices increased by 193% and 64%, respectively, compared to July of the previous year. In the same period, the dollar rate increased from 6.86 TL to 8.63 TL. Despite all these developments, the prices in the sector are far below the increases in cost.”
In the statement, it was stated that the sector is already below the world price averages in the domestic market and it was even emphasized that Turkey is the country where cement is sold the cheapest in the nearby geography and that the claims that an extraordinary increase of 200% in cement prices do not reflect the truth. In the statement, the following statements were made: “Although approximately 80% of cement costs are composed of foreign currency-based fuel, electricity etc., we do not make any concessions from our contribution to the country’s economy, with the understanding of national solidarity that we have maintained since the establishment of our country, by not reflecting the increases in prices exactly.”
“The reason for the problems in the construction sector is not the cement sector”
TÜRKÇİMENTO CEO Volkan Bozay said: “As the Cement Industry, we have never hesitated to take responsibility in order to maintain the stable momentum we have achieved in the domestic market and to maintain the critical role we have assumed in the foreign markets, with years of determination and sacrifices. During the epidemic, we made great efforts not to interrupt production and to contribute to the continuity of the construction industry as usual. We did not hesitate to undertake works that will create added value for Turkey, even during periods when we were exposed to great price pressures due to high cost increases.”
Bozay said: “In such a period when our country needs to produce, create value, earn and earn more than anything else, it is quite sad that the Construction Industry focuses on the scenario of going out of business/strike and moreover tries to cost this to the Cement Industry. It does not seem reasonable to try to target our industry as the cause of the problems experienced in the construction industry.”
“It is a wrong attitude to target our industry by the construction industry”
Emphasizing that the Turkish cement industry has successfully maintained its steady growth, ÇEİS Secretary General Dr. H. Serdar Şardan, on the other hand, stated that 25% of the currently active players have been involved in the sector in the last five years and gave the following information: “The Competition Authority closely follows the cement sector, as it does all sectors. All fees, payments and taxes of the cement industry are recorded in accordance with the principles of legality and transparency. The fact that our members are in the tax rankings in the provinces where they operate also proves that the cement industry has made tax payments by declaring the income it generates in accordance with the laws. Almost all of the cement industry consists of unionized and collective bargaining companies.”
Underlining that the cement industry has not avoided any sacrifice for Turkey for over a century, Şardan stated that it is a wrong attitude to try to target the cement industry as the cause of the problems experienced in the construction industry, and continued his words as follows: It does not make sense to show the Cement Industry as the ‘reason’ today. It does not seem mathematically possible for our industry to affect the aforementioned increases at the level mentioned.”
Finally, the following statements were included in the joint statement: “Our industry, which has never hesitated to take responsibility for the goal of strengthening the country’s economy and has been operating for more than 100 years, has always been proud to be present in the founding story of our country. Therefore, the Cement Industry will continue to take on the responsibility of being one of the main actors of our common future with self sacrifice despite everything.”
