Source:Recep Erçin, Dünya Newspaper

LET’S TAKE SPEED FROM THE EAST AND RULES FROM THE WEST, AND ADVANCE WITH THE TURK’S INTELLIGENCE

“Europe’s biggest export product is legislation,” said PAGEV President Yavuz Eroğlu, adding that in the new era Turkey can advance with Turkish ingenuity by combining the West’s rules with the East’s speed.

 

The Turkish Plastics Industrialists’ Research, Development and Education Foundation (PAGEV) held the 9th International Plastic Packaging Congress. The summit, hosted by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO), was themed “Coding the Future of Packaging: Global Rules, Competition and Sustainability Vision Toward 2026.”

In this context, PAGEV President Yavuz Eroğlu, delivering the opening speech of the congress, pointed out that the East has adapted more quickly to the rules set by Europe to eliminate competition. Drawing attention to the progress China has made in reducing carbon emissions to zero, Eroğlu said:
“The West has lost its competitiveness. The East has moved fast. We are trying to decode the rules of the coming period, but neither in the East nor in the West have these codes yet fully formed. Competitiveness has shifted. The direction regulations are taking will significantly impact packaging. Turkey has one path: the rules of the West. By combining the East’s speed with the West’s regulations, we can advance with Turkish ingenuity.”
Eroğlu emphasized that Europe’s biggest export product is legislation.

Turks are adapting to the transformation

Speaking at the opening of the congress, ITO Vice Chairman of the Board Mehmet Develioğlu gave the following messages:
“Europeans are changing the rules of the game. Then they forget why they changed them in the first place. They say, ‘Before we even completed integration, the Turks are doing incredible things.’ In the coming period, it will not be enough just to produce; production must also be respectful to nature.”

Following the opening speeches, an open panel titled “Rising East: New Generation Technologies in the Packaging Sector” was held. Speaking during the panel, DEIK Thailand Business Council President Cemil Çakar highlighted the importance of using technology to keep pace with sectoral change and transformation.

“To be a bridge, we must process data well”

Global QSR Executive & Former Burger King China CEO Atakan Bozkurt, drawing on examples from his experience in China, said:
“We took our experience there from here, but it lasted only one year. For the remaining 11 years, we used the experience we gained from them. They have fully embraced working with artificial intelligence. They use big data effectively. To build a bridge between the East and the West, we must learn how to process data. The Chinese transform their packaging based on consumer preferences. They have created regulations that minimize resource use and implemented waste-management systems.”

Taking the floor during the panel, Yavuz Eroğlu noted that he has been attending fairs in China for 25 years and shared the following anecdote:
“While sitting on the street, a beggar approached. We said we didn’t have any change. He pointed to the QR code hanging around his neck and received the payment. Digitization reaching even street beggars means it has spread to the grassroots—and what’s more, it isn’t even informal.”

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