Chemical Sector's Import Dependency Could Decrease

Under the Technology-Driven Industrial Initiative Program aimed at producing strategically important products for Turkey using domestic and national capabilities, a call for applications for "Health and Chemical Products" has been announced. Applications can be submitted until 13 September 2021. An information seminar on the "Technology-Driven Industrial Initiative Program Health and Chemical Products Call," organized under the coordination of the Chemical Sector Platform (KSP), which is chaired by İKMİB, was held digitally on 17 August 2021 with the participation of KSP Chair and İKMİB Board Chair Adil Pelister, Director General of Strategic Research and Productivity at the Ministry of Industry and Technology Prof. Dr. İlker Murat Ar, and Head of Program Management at the Ministry of Industry and Technology's Directorate General of Strategic Research and Productivity Hakan Erten. Under the Technology-Driven Industrial Initiative Program, chemical, pharmaceutical and medical device products were published in the Official Gazette on 27 February 2021 and added to the priority products list. The Turkish Chemical Sector Investment Priority Products Report prepared by İKMİB to contribute to reducing the foreign trade deficit and raw material dependency, and to increase high value-added production and exports, included 98 of 103 products determined to be suitable for domestic investment in the aforementioned list. During the webinar organized to inform the sector about incentives and support, detailed information was shared on how companies wishing to apply for investment in a total of 421 products and 80 innovative technologies identified in the chemical, petrochemical and health sectors would benefit from which incentives.

Applications will continue until 13 September

Under the program, support will be provided for the development of chemical and petrochemical sector products with high potential for the development of national industry. Additionally, selected products from the pharmaceutical sector and medical device sector, which have significant production volume and variety and high added value within the scope of the call, will also be supported for domestic production. Applications for the Health and Chemical Products Call can be submitted until 13 September 2021 via www.hamle.gov.tr.

Adil Pelister: "Eight of the world's top ten economies are among the world's largest producers and sellers of chemical products"

In his opening remarks at the Technology-Driven Industrial Initiative Program Chemistry and Health Products Call Information webinar, Chemical Sector Platform (KSP) Chair and İKMİB Board Chair Adil Pelister emphasized that eight of the world's top ten economies—ranked as the United States, China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, India, Italy, Brazil and South Korea—are, except for Italy and the United Kingdom, also ranked among the world's largest producers and sellers of chemical products. Noting that these 10 countries generated more than USD 55 trillion in value in 2020, Pelister stated, "We observe that the chemical sector plays a very significant role in making the foreign trade balances of these countries positive and in creating net added value in their economies. The chemical sector not only produces and sells its own sectoral final products, but has become a supplier to other sectors ranging from space technology to defense industry, from transportation and communications to textile and food sectors, from automotive industry to information technology. However, the health industry, plastics industry, cosmetics, paints and cleaning industries, as well as biochemical industries and their sub-derivatives comprise 16 sub-sectors covered by the chemical sector. I am confident that in the near future, the chemical sector will have additional sub-derivative sectors within the 'New Order.' The digitalized world and the transforming economic and ecological life will multiply the importance of the chemical sector. The development of exciting new technologies in the energy field will shape new areas for the chemical sector, and new fusion technologies will shape the future of physical chemistry. Ecological developments, viruses and epidemics will create entirely new developments in biochemistry, pharmaceuticals and medical fields," he said. Pelister: "World economy will continue to rise on the shoulders of the chemical sector" Pelister, drawing attention to the fact that according to reports from the World Bank and World Trade Organization, the chemical sector's share in global trade volume has increased from 7-8 percent in the 1970s to 15 percent today, stated, "In short, the world economy will continue to rise on the shoulders of the chemical sector.

This is why we say the chemical sector is strategic. When we examine the world's largest economies, we see that developments in the chemical sector are reflected in the economic sphere only in light of sectoral scientific and R&D developments.

These technological and scientific developments over the last 50 years also created large economies. Based on this point, as İKMİB, we launched our Chemistry Technology Center project and are approaching the conclusion with firm steps. Our aim is to develop our chemical sector technologically and scientifically and transfer these developments to the commercial sphere. I would like to reiterate our belief that by making our Chemistry Technology Center example a national strategy and establishing a National Chemistry Agency with representation and support at the highest level in our government, we will move up a division as a country," he said.

98 products from İKMİB report on priority products list

Pelister, recalling that as İKMİB, following approximately 8 months of work, they published the Turkish Chemical Sector Investment Priority Products Report in November 2020, stated, "We attempted to create a perspective for producing 157 sectoral imported products in our country that have import values exceeding USD 50 million. The production of these products in our country would greatly reduce the dependence ratio for our chemical sector. The contributions of our Chemical Sector Platform stakeholders were significant in the preparation of our report. It is a source of pride for us that 98 of the 103 products included in our report and suitable for production in our country have been included in the initiative program. In reaching this point, I express the gratitude of our chemical sector to all those who provided support, particularly Minister Mustafa Varank and our Deputy Ministers, as well as ministry bureaucrats and all those who contributed their labor." Director General of Strategic Research and Productivity at the Ministry of Industry and Technology Prof. Dr. İlker Murat Ar said in his remarks at the webinar, "Under the Technology-Driven Industrial Initiative Program, we published our product list containing 919 products and more than 300 technology areas planned to be supported this year in February. With the support of İKMİB, we held the first of our promotion and information meetings on these platforms. In 2021, we opened our third call related to health and chemical products. One of the most important components of our 2023 Industry and Technology Strategy is our National Technology Initiative vision. Under this vision, there are many activities being carried out under the leadership of our Minister. One of these activities is our Technology-Driven Industrial Initiative Program. As you know, the pre-application process for our call will hopefully be completed on 13 September 2021. Our program, aimed at producing high value-added products with domestic and national capabilities, seeks to provide the support and incentives offered by our Ministry in an end-to-end approach from R&D to investment and through a single-window system. Under our health and chemical products call, we aim to support 421 products and 80 innovative technology areas under 16 headings. This call of ours has the highest number among the calls we have made to date in terms of product diversity and technology area diversity. The Technology-Driven Industrial Initiative Program is a very important building block for our country's future and our national technology initiative. In line with our confidence in this program, we stand by all our industrialists who are taking action or planning to take action until the end," he said.