Ramazan Kaya, Joint Chairman of the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TGSD), stated that apparel is among the leading industries of the country with the economic value created and contribution to employment, and shared his predictions for 2030 and beyond. Kaya made a statement to AA saying: “My prediction is that very serious brands will emerge from Türkiye, especially in 2030 and beyond. Right now, we say ‘We have brands’ but we mostly stay local. But after 2030, we will see more of our local brands in Europe and America.”
He indicated that there was a slowdown in the first 3-6 months of 2024 due to both the economic conditions in Europe and the wars, and said that there was a slight normalisation in the third quarter of the year and that they made a breakthrough in the last quarter. “Due to the normalization of inflation in Europe and the emergence of access to money, there was a sudden demand with the spending appetite of households,” he commented.
The sales volume of the Turkish apparel industry in the first 11 months of 2024 was approximately 82 billion dollars
Ramazan Kaya noted that the industry has an annual production of 33.6 billion dollars: “The apparel industry is among the leading industries of our country with the economic value it creates and its contribution to employment. Türkiye, which has a wide supply chain from cotton to final product with its fully integrated facilities, is the fifth largest country in the world where all kinds of apparel products are produced. The industry reached a total sales volume of 85.2 billion dollars as of the end of 2023, including exports, domestic market sales, tourist expenditures and apparel exports accompanied by passengers, also known as suitcase trade. The sales volume in the 11 months of 2024 was approximately 82 billion dollars,” he said.
He relayed that they foresaw the industry closing the year with a 4-5 percent deficit and noted the following; “When we evaluate the entirety of this year in global apparel exports, there is a contraction of approximately 4-5 percent. When we reach the end of the year, we will face a turnover-based loss of 4-5 percent. But besides this turnover-based situation, profitability and employment are of course important. The roadmaps and processes that follow are important. It is necessary to re-evaluate what will be done and what we will experience, especially in 2025, in line with customer requests and demands.”
Kaya stated that approximately 600 thousand workers are employed in the apparel industry and that this number has reached 1 million in textiles, and said that the industry made 16.7 billion dollars of exports in the first 11 months of the year and that they predict that it will close the year with 18 billion dollars.
Turnover may decrease by 5% in 2025
Ramazan Kaya, regarding the employment losses in the industry, disclosed; “It is actually a normal point that we have reached with employment losses. When we look to 2025, will we see a rise in employment? We will not, we cannot. We will continue on our way with these figures, these numbers, these people, these turnovers. We may even experience a 5 percent decrease next year. From now on, we need to work on increasing the average unit price, not increasing employment or turnover.”
“The EU market will again be prominent in the coming period”
Ramazan Kaya stated that approximately 60 percent of the industry exports are made to European Union (EU) countries, 4-5 percent to the USA, and the rest to Russia, the Middle East and other European countries; “We are trying to create value and added value by changing the product variety with sustainable quality. Thus, we are working to increase the unit price. The EU will again be prominent in the coming period.”