TÜRKÇİMENTO Holds 66th Ordinary General Assembly

TÜRKÇİMENTO, the umbrella organization of the cement sector, held its 66th Ordinary General Assembly for the 2023 fiscal year in Ankara. Speaking at the opening of the General Assembly, TÜRKÇİMENTO Board Chairman Fatih Yücelik said, "In 2023, we celebrated with enthusiasm the 100th anniversary of our Republic, which our Great Leader Atatürk called his greatest work and the most important achievement of our nation. As representatives of the cement sector, which has been operating for more than 110 years and has played a strategic role in the country's development since the establishment of our Republic, we continue to work tirelessly and proudly for this country on the path we set out with the words 'We are at the foundation.'" Yücelik, noting that the pain of the earthquake disaster on 6 February still lingers in hearts and saying "We have no words to describe our sorrow for the lives we lost," stated: "On the first days we entered 2024, the news of martyrs we received pierced our hearts again. While 2023 witnessed many developments in the world, the outbreak of the Israel-Palestine War was a shameful development for humanity. The massacre of innocents in the ongoing war deeply affects us. I hope this process comes to an end soon and peace is established, and especially steps for the future of children are taken quickly," he said.

Evaluating recent economic conditions and sector developments in his speech at the General Assembly, Fatih Yücelik continued as follows:

"In 2023, housing sales, which closely concern our sector, reached 1.2 million units with a 17.5% decline. Approximately 31% of these sales, or 380,000 units, were first-time purchases. Housing sales financed with credit accounted for only 14.5% of total sales. Foreign housing sales fell to 35,000 units, a sharp drop of 48.1%. At the end of 2023, inflation stood at 64.8%, similar to 2022. The dollar-Turkish Lira exchange rate, which was 18.7 at the end of 2022, rose to TRY 29.1 at the end of 2023. The 56% increase in the exchange rate first reflected negatively on imported input costs, then on product sales prices, and inevitably affected inflation."

Fatih Yücelik shared the following data regarding the sector for 2023 in his speech:

• We forecast cement production to reach 80 million tons with a 9% increase compared to the previous year, • Domestic sales are expected to exceed 65 million tons with approximately 20% growth. • Looking at export figures, we achieved 19.7 million tons in foreign sales with a 28% decline compared to the previous year. This figure consists of 15.7 million tons of cement and 4 million tons of clinker. • Additionally, our sector achieved foreign sales worth USD 1 billion 265 million in 2023, down 18% compared to the previous year. • With these figures, we estimate that Turkey ranked second in the world again in 2023 in both tonnage and value terms. In exports to over 100 countries, our most important markets were the United States, Israel, Syria, and Italy.

Fatih Yücelik concluded his remarks as follows:

"As is known, following the earthquake disaster we experienced in 2023, urban renewal projects, in particular, and the reconstruction plan for the earthquake region were put into effect. For this reason, we do not expect an additional contribution from the domestic sales growth that stimulated the domestic market in 2023 to continue in 2024; therefore, we expect domestic sales to materialize at figures similar to 2023, and 2024 to be a more stable year. In the foreign market, unless there are energy cost increases and fluctuations in global markets, we believe the sector will complete this year at the same level as 2023 in both exports and the domestic market. However, looking at the conflicts recently occurring in Iran, Iraq, Yemen and our nearby geography, we are aware that we need to be prepared for a new regional turbulence." Yücelik, emphasizing that the Turkish cement sector makes significant contributions to the country's economy through employment, investment, exports, infrastructure, technological advancement and sustainability activities, stated: "Beyond economic data, as a cement sector, we are concentrating on important issues such as adapting to the green transition, using alternative fuels and raw materials, energy efficiency, and digitalization, positioning ourselves among the pioneering sectors in low-carbon production."