The Turkish textile, garment and apparel industries are among the sectors most affected by both the global inflationary environment and wars as well as domestic economic policies and which lost power in production due to the earthquakes in February 2023, meanwhile they continue their efforts to maintain their power in the market. However, manufacturers, who state that they have difficulty maintaining their competitiveness in the global arena, emphasize state support and regulations at every opportunity.
Speaking at the opening of the Texhibition Istanbul Fabric, Yarn and Textile Accessories Fair held at the Istanbul Expo Center (IFM) on September 11-13, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat said that there were intense complaints from manufacturers about some irregular import practices that created unfair competition. “In the 15 months that have passed, we, as the Ministry of Trade, have solved a great majority of these problems through both our General Directorate of Export and our General Directorate of Import,” said Bolat, noting that Eximbank resources and rediscount credits had been increased 10 times, while the foreign exchange requirement had been reduced from 80 percent to 30 percent.
“Turkish brands will continue to grow in both textile and garment”
Minister Bolat said that as a Ministry, they provided much more grant support than planned in their budget. “As a result of the investigations carried out for the complaint applications made to us on the import front, we took important decisions without hesitation against wrong practices and practices that create injustice,” he said meanwhile conveying that the Texhibition fair is growing today, and that this shows how important and fundamental strategic the textile and garment industry is for Türkiye. Bolat continued his words as follows;
“As a government, as a state, as Türkiye, we have never neglected the textile and apparel industries, and we will not. We have always said the same for other industries, and Turkish textiles, which have become famous worldwide, and Turkish brands will continue to grow in both textiles and apparel. We said that as long as we come to the right prescriptions through consultation, take the right measures, and through branding, innovation, and quality production, it will be possible for you to sell more profitable, higher-priced products in the world arena and in trade. All the measures we have taken have been in line with this. This is a package of 10 million liras per company, and up to 50 percent grant support in consultancy services to companies that initiate green transformation adaptation studies. Companies that embark on this path will also be entitled to receive green transformation financing packages from our Ministry of Industry and Technology and Eximbank under suitable conditions.”
“We are working hard to access financing and reduce costs”
Minister Bolat stated that they will continue to progress in the right direction and towards achieving the targets, and expressed that they are making efforts in terms of access to financing and reducing costs, especially in employment-intensive sectors. He disclosed: “As the government, we are working between ministries. Therefore, God willing, we will not hesitate to take new measures. In textiles and garment, we have exports of 21.2 billion dollars as of the first 8 months of this year. It was approximately 33 billion dollars in the whole of last year. With the measures we took in textiles last year, we observed together that the factory wheels have accelerated again. The increasing trends in production and exports continued. They reached an export of 6.2 billion dollars as of the first 8 months, which is a head-to-head outlook with last year’s figures.”