The results of the ‘Export Performance in August 2024’ report published by the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ITHIB) indicate that the sector representatives’ search for different markets besides the European Union (EU) countries and their efforts in this regard have borne fruit. While the EU maintained its first place among export markets in the first 8 months of the year, the rise in the African market drew attention. In January-August 2024, textile exports to Africa increased by 8.1% compared to the same period of the previous year, from 794,668 million to 859,364 million dollars. In the same period, Türkiye exported a total of 213,590 tons of textiles to African countries, with a 16.1% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. The country that stood out in the region during this period was Egypt, with a 24.7% increase in value and a 29.8% increase in quantity.
In January-August 2024, while an increase was recorded in all markets except for European countries outside the EU and the Turkic Republics in terms of quantity, a decrease was observed in all markets except Africa and the American continent in terms of value. Turkish textile exports to Italy decreased by 3.5% from 589 million to 569 million dollars. In the same period, exports to the US increased by 7.5% from 477 million to 513 million dollars.
Textile and raw material exports decreased by 2.2% in January-August 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year, from 7.7 billion to 7.5 billion dollars. In August, exports increased by 1.2%, from 971 million to 983 million dollars compared to the same month of the previous year. Export figures, which made a significant leap in July 2024 compared to the previous month, decreased in August compared to July.
Home textile exports decreased by 11.2 percent in the January-August period
In the first 8 months, woven fabric maintained its first place in textile and raw material exports by product groups, while also showing a 4% decrease compared to the same period last year. It was followed by technical textiles with a 1.0% increase and yarn with a 3.7% increase. Knitted fabric became the fourth most exported product group in this period with a decrease of 8.3%, while the sharpest decrease was experienced in home textiles, which ranked fifth with a rate of 11.2%.
While Spain, Italy and Morocco ranked first three in woven fabric exports, the countries with the highest technical textile exports were the USA, Germany and Italy, respectively. The highest yarn exports were made to Italy, the UK and Egypt. Yarn exports to Egypt increased by 51.5% in January-August 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year. Italy, Bulgaria and Morocco ranked first in knitted fabric exports; Germany, the United States and France ranked first three in home textile exports.