PAGDER Supports the Fight Against COVID-19

Selçuk Gülsün, Chair of the Board of Plastik Sanayicileri Derneği (PAGDER): "Maximum care must be taken to ensure that measures implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19 do not negatively affect our economy" he said.

We support effective measures

Gülsün stated that as the plastics sector, they support the measures implemented in the fight against Covid-19: "Undoubtedly, the spread rate of the virus is a cause of concern for all humanity. Our wish is that the virus, which has infected close to 200,000 people globally and has cost the lives of close to 8,000 people, does not spread in our country. As experts have noted, paying attention to social distancing and personal hygiene during this period is of great importance. We hope that our country will successfully continue this struggle and overcome it with minimal damage" he stated.

The importance of plastic products is very significant

Selçuk Gülsün, noting that plastic products play a very important role in combating contagious diseases, said: "Plastic products play an indispensable role in both ensuring personal hygiene and protecting public health. From single-use plastics that minimize surface transmission, to plastic packaging that protects our food, to masks whose use has increased recently, to medical products such as gloves, gowns and intravenous sets used in treatment—the establishment of an entire sterile network is only possible with plastics" he said.

Economic activity must not be overlooked

Emphasizing that economic activity must not be disrupted throughout this process, Gülsün stated: "We observe that in China, where the virus emerged and has caused the greatest losses to date, with the situation coming under control, regional industry has risen to the 70s percentage level. The main reason for this is that the measures taken to prevent economic activity from being affected throughout the entire struggle have been grounded on a scientific basis. In our country as well, independent of external effects such as market contraction, measures to be implemented must be carefully weighed to prevent our industrial production from declining. Measures taken with unscientific, populist approaches will neither be beneficial to our country in terms of health nor will they be economically damaging" he said.