Following the earthquakes in the region where approximately one third of textile production is realised, the February figures of Turkish textile exports were announced. According to the report published by Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ITHIB), exports of the Turkish textile and raw materials sector decreased by 9.9% in February 2023 compared to January 2023, and decreased by 21.2% compared to February 2022 and amounted to approximately 891 million dollars. In this period, exports of the sector had a share of 6.6% in Türkiye’s overall exports, while Türkiye’s overall exports decreased by 6.4% to 18.6 billion dollars and exports of industrial products decreased by 9.5% to 13.5 billion dollars.
According to the capacity utilisation report announced by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, the average capacity utilisation rate of the manufacturing industry for the last 12 months was recorded as 75.2%. In February 2023, the capacity utilisation rate, which was 70.1% in the manufacture of textile products, decreased by 12.9% compared to February of the previous year.
EU maintains first place in Turkish textile exports
In the January-February period of 2023, the highest exports of textile and raw materials were made to the EU (27) countries and were valued at 790 million dollars with a decrease of 26.3% compared to the same period of 2022. In the same period, the second country group to which Türkiye exported the most textile and raw materials was African countries. Exports to African countries decreased by 19.3% in this period and were recorded as 191 million dollars.
In the January-February period of 2023, exports in terms of quantity decreased by 9.7% to 398 thousand tonnes. In the same period, exports to EU countries in terms of quantity decreased by 19.7% to 157 thousand tonnes. In this period, the second most exported country group in terms of quantity was the Middle East countries with a share of 10.7% and 42.6 thousand tonnes.
Evaluating the prominent countries in Türkiye’s textile and raw materials exports in the January-February period of 2023, Italy was the most important export market. In this period, textile and raw materials exports to Italy decreased by 34.5% to approximately 155 million dollars.
Woven fabric product group stood out with 21.2% share in exports
In the same period, the most important product group was the woven fabric product group with a share of 21.2% when the exports of Türkiye’s textile and raw materials sector were analysed on the basis of product groups. In the same period, technical textiles, the second most exported product group, decreased by 3.6% and exports totalled 364 million dollars. Yarn exports, the third most important product group in Türkiye’s textile and raw materials exports, decreased by 24.2% to 334 million dollars in this period.
Shoulder pad accounted for 15% of apparel exports with an increase of 69.9%
Analysing the exports of the garment sub-industry in the January-February period of 2023 on the basis of sub-product groups, the most important product group was shoulder pad with a 15% share in exports. Exports of the mentioned product group increased by 69.9% to 14.9 million dollars in this period. In the same period, Romania was the country to which Türkiye exported the most garment sub-industry. Türkiye’s exports of garment sub-industry to Romania in this period increased by 19.5% to 8.6 million dollars.