Zeki Sarıbekir re-elected President of ASD

Mr. Zeki Sarıbekir, the current president, who was the only candidate in the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the ASD Turkish Packaging Manufacturers Association, was re-elected by taking all the votes. Mr. Zeki Sarıbekir said that they will continue their export and sustainability-oriented works for the sector without slowing down in the new term.

ASD, the umbrella organization of the packaging industry, which exported 5.1 billion dollars last year, held its 13th Ordinary General Assembly. Mr. Zeki Sarıbekir, who was the only candidate in the General Assembly of the Association, was re­ elected by taking all the votes.

KEEP WORKING FOR THE INDUSTRY

In his statement after the general assembly, Mr. Zeki Sarıbekir said, “I'm extremely proud to be elected as the president of ASD in the new term. We will continue to work for our sector with our colleagues in our new Board of Directors and Board of Auditors. As the packaging industry, we continue to contribute to our country's exports without stopping. In 2020, we realized an export of 5 billion 147 million dollars and achieved an increase of 12 percent in quantity and 9 percent in value compared to the previous year. In addition, as the packaging industry, we are constantly improving ourselves by quickly adapting to the future and innovations.

With the pandemic, there has been a demand from the world towards Turkey. Continuing our work; continued its packaging supply for all sectors, especially food, health and personal & homecare products sectors. We must make this sustainable, increase our market number and sell packaging to more countries. The Turkish packaging industry has a  strong  infrastructure  and the competence to compete with companies in the world. By continuously investing in R&D and innovation, we need to produce in a fast, economical and sustainable way, and increase our sha re in the world markets where competition is intense. Automation should be provided in production in order to increase both the production volume and the production of value-added products in the most economical way possible:”

ASD'S FOCUS IS 'SUSTAINABILITY' AND 'ENVIRONMENT'

Mr. Zeki Sarıbekir continued his words as follows, “We must accept 'Sustainability'  and 'Environment'  as  two  fundamental   points in packaging production and move  forward.  We  need  to  reduce the import of waste to zero. Recycling our own waste contributes greatly to our  economy  ln  order  to  develop  the  recycling  sector it is necessary to raise awareness of everyone. However quality recycling can be achieved by collecting wastes separately at their source and collecting them separately by municipalities.

On the other hand, we must proceed in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for a sustainable environment. The European Union aims to gradually implement the European Green Deal within the framework of the climate neutral target by 2050. As ASD, we will closely follow the transition process to a carbon-free economy and continue to provide our industry with the support we can in the coming period by doing our part.”

PACKAGING DOES NOT INCREASE COSTS, PROTECTS THE PRODUCT

Pointing out that the importance of packaged foods has increased especially during the pandemic process, ASD President Mr. Zeki Sarıbekir said, “The cleanliness and safety of the  products we buy depends on the packaging of them. Nutritional value, amount, expiry date, address of the manufacturer of the product contained on the packaging that is, all information including the ingredients of the product and where and by whom it was produced. The right packaging is also an indicator of the value given to consumers. For this reason, contrary to popular belief, packaging is protective, not a costincreasing element. Apart from what is reflected, the cost of packaging is generally between 3 and 5 percent of the selling price of daily essential products and around 10 percent for some industrial products. Packaging cannot be held responsible for the increase in food prices. Packaging does not increase inflation.”

Sincerely,

ASD Turkish Packaging Manufacturers Association