KOCAELİ – Kocaeli Chamber of Industry (KSO) President Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, who said that they will start the ‘Sustainable Export Adventure’ in order to increase the success of companies in exports and to help companies that do not export to start exporting in cooperation with ABİGEM, said that 40 percent of the program cost, which is a 13-day training package, is paid by the members of the chamber. Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, who gave information about the 17 August 1999 Marmara Earthquake, said, “23 years have passed since the 17 August 1999 earthquake. While 18 thousand 373 of our citizens lost their lives in the earthquake, 317 thousand 493 houses and 47 thousand 412 workplaces were damaged. As Kocaeli Chamber of Industry; According to the results of our research; We determined that of 182 companies that wanted to relocate after the 99 earthquake, 5 of them relocated and continued their activities, 48 of them were deleted and 12 of them did not continue their activities, and 117 of them continued their activities in the same area. , “When we look at the measures taken by our companies before a possible earthquake; 92 percent had an Emergency Plan, 39 percent had an Earthquake Response Plan, 46 percent fixed their machinery and office furniture, compared to 39 percent last year, 48 percent had all their employees receive disaster preparedness training last year, 46 percent We found that 50 percent of them had earthquake and fire drills at least twice a year,” he said.“We employed 135 people with Bizimköy Handicapped Production Center”
Emphasizing that the workplaces and factories built after the earthquake were built in accordance with the new regulations and necessary precautions were taken, Zeytinoğlu said, “In 1989, we started the closed loop radio system called ‘APELL Project’. Relevant institutions and companies in the network can communicate with each other uninterruptedly in case of any disaster. We will update this study with the technical support of our Chemistry Committee in cooperation with AFAD. With the awareness of the increasing number of disabled people after the earthquake, we started the ‘Bizimköy Production Center for the Disabled’ project in 2005. This project continues successfully. We currently employ 135 disabled citizens. Since 2018, we have been organizing the ‘KSO Process Safety Symposium and Exhibition’ with wide participation. We are planning to organize the 4th edition in an international format at Kocaeli Congress Center on 2-3 May next year,” he said.“The share of Europe in our exports was 54.9%”Ayhan Zeytinoğlu said, “In July, exports increased by 13.4 percent and amounted to 18 billion 550 million dollars. This was the highest export in July. When we look at the top five countries to which we export the most, Germany ranks first with 1 billion 488 million dollars. It is followed by the USA with 1 billion 318 million dollars. Again, we exported 1 billion 17 million dollars to England, 1 billion 2 million dollars to Iraq and 844 million dollars to Italy. Our exports to European Union countries amounted to 7 billion 351 million dollars. Our exports to other European countries amounted to 2 billion 832 million dollars. The share of Europe in our exports was 54.9 percent. We exported 3 billion 134 million dollars to Near and Middle Eastern countries and 980 million dollars to North African countries. If we look at our import data, our imports amounted to 40.8 percent in July, amounting to 29 billion 132 million dollars. In June, this figure was $31.6 billion. Imports of investment goods increased by 18.3%, raw materials by 46.6% and consumer goods by 28.3%. We think that the increase in imports of consumption goods should be carefully monitored. Due to the rapid increase in imports than exports, the foreign trade deficit increased by 144.5 percent to 10 billion 582 million dollars. 2 billion 884 million dollars, while imports increased by 31.7 percent to 6 billion 125 million dollars. When we look at the first seven-month period, our exports increased by 21.6 percent to 22 billion 122 million dollars, while our imports increased by 26.2 percent to 41 billion 598 million dollars.
“PPI will increase CPI over time”
Stating that the CPI in July was 79.60 percent and increased by 2.37 percent monthly, Zeytinoğlu said, “The PPI, on the other hand, was 144.61 percent, with a monthly increase of 5.17 percent. The continuation of the increase in exchange rates and input prices is a factor in the rise in inflation. When we look at the PPI sub-items, electricity-gas-steam increased by 441.7 percent and energy by 350.64 percent in July. These increases due to the rise in energy prices are much higher than the general increase in PPI. Therefore, we think that the PPI will continue to push the CPI up over time. The difference between PPI and CPI was 65.01 points. Referring to the ‘grain corridor agreement’ signed with Ukraine and Russia under the leadership of Turkey and under the auspices of the United Nations, Zeytinoğlu said, “This agreement, as an example of our country’s successful diplomacy, has led to a decline in agricultural commodity prices globally. We also see that crude oil prices have fallen in the last few months amid concerns about the economic slowdown. We expect this decline to normal in commodities to continue.” Referring to the labor force data, Zeytinoğlu said, “The unemployment rate was announced as 10.3 percent in June. It decreased by 0.6 points compared to the same month of the previous year / 0.3 points compared to May. While the workable population increased by 79 thousand people from May to June, those who participated in the labor force decreased by 182 thousand people. Those who were employed decreased by 46 thousand. Seasonally, the decline is remarkable in a period when employment increases in agriculture and services sectors can be experienced. As of June, the total number of employment is 30 million 866 thousand people. In May, the total employment was 30 million 912 thousand people. The meeting ended after the unanimous approval of the establishment of Model Fabrika Anonim Şirketi with a capital of 3 million 600 thousand TL.
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