THE EXCHANGE RATE, HAS PUT THE SECTOR IN A VERY DIFFICULT POSİTİON

Dear readers,

I know we've made it a habit to gather every November for the UNICERA Istanbul International Ceramics, Bathroom, and Kitchen Fair. This year's UNICERA, scheduled for November 4-7, has been postponed until 2026 at the request of our members due to the current economic conditions. We all know that trade fair preparations are tiring, but the benefits are invaluable. We are confident that this postponement will create a stronger meeting environment for our sector. You can find detailed information on this topic in our magazine's interview with Aydin Eser, General Coordinator of UNICERA International Fairs Inc.

Although our magazine is no longer published in print, it maintains the same richness of its content. Full of both industry and arts news, you can easily access it digitally. The TSF website also features a rich archive spanning past years, making it an important resource for retrospective research.

Although the Turkish ceramics industry couldn't host international visitors in Istanbul this year, we demonstrated our competitiveness with our innovative products by participating in the CERSAIE fair in Bologna, Italy. CERSAIE once again demonstrated the importance of fairs for our industry and was extremely productive for our members.

We are all closely following the challenging times our sector is facing. The ceramics industry, considered a strategic sector in Europe, unfortunately doesn't receive the attention it deserves in our country. Our sector, which spans Anatolia and creates a wide employment network, is one of the highest value-added sectors in Turkiye. Of every $100 in exports, $82 remains domestically, making our sector one of the least dependent on imports.

However, the exchange rate, which has not kept pace with cost increases, has put the sector in a very difficult position. Despite significant productivity gains across all our businesses, cost increases have not been adequately compensated. This situation is causing us serious difficulties in our export markets. We face the risk of losing stakeholders we have earned through years of hard work and collaboration with to other countries. Countries such as India, China, and Egypt, in particular, have made significant strides in competitiveness through low costs and low prices.

However, I have complete confidence that our industry, with its deep-rooted tradition and state-of-the-art technology, will quickly overcome this period and return to its ascendancy. The crucial point is to act together, share best practices, and regain our rightful place in European and global markets.

In this land with an 8,000-year-old ceramics tradition, I wholeheartedly believe that we will overcome this challenging period together and as quickly as possible.

Kind regards