Today, the textile industry is among the most important sectors of Turkey with its export to more than 200 countries. Closing the year 2020 with an export loss of 2-2.5%, the Turkish textile industry targets growth of approximately one billion dollars in exports for 2021. In his statement on the ฤฐTHฤฐB Youtube channel, ฤฐTHฤฐB (Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exportersโ Association) Chairman of the Board Ahmet รksรผz evaluated the year 2020 of the textile industry and also mentioned the main agenda topics of the sector. Recommending to textile manufacturers, รksรผz talked about the ongoing projects for the development of the sector.
According to the information given by Ahmet รksรผz, the Turkish textile sector has a production power of 340 billion TL with the apparel sector. Besides, it is the sector that creates the most employment in Turkey with more than 1 million employment. It always ranks first in foreign trade surplus and provides Turkey a net foreign exchange income of 16 billion dollars every year. When the effects of the pandemic were seen intensely, the textile and apparel industry exported 9.7 billion dollars with a loss of 2-2.5% in 2020 and now the export target in 2021 is 11 billion dollars.
Turkey’s main market is the EU with 50% export
Ahmet รksรผz stated that the European Union is Turkey’s main market with 50% export. Noting that there was an increase in the market of 2.5% by increasing its market share from 14.8% to 17.2%, รksรผz said that they benefited from the advantages of being the sixth-largest supplier of the sector. รksรผz noted; โBeing a big player in foreign trade is very important. We exported to Australia at 10 times the price of Turkey’s average last year, and we also reached record levels in the USA”.
The main agenda of the Turkish textile industry 2021: sustainability
Emphasizing that the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals, the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal provide very important clues for the vision of the sector, Ahmet รksรผz commented;
โLeaving a livable world to future generations is one of our most important duties. In this sense, the measurement of carbon footprint and production with less energy and water usage comes to the fore. Zero waste is also very important. Recycling the wastes into yarn and then into clothes is on our main agenda. Besides, social compliance criteria are among the topics that we will talk about much more in the coming periodโ.
Companies should invest in sustainability
Ahmet รksรผz relayed that sustainability is very important for companies in the textile and apparel industry. Saying that big buyers are now making their plans accordingly, รksรผz stated that companies should make the necessary investments in this sense. รksรผz also mentioned the importance of product quality; โTurkey is a manufacturer that has proven itself in terms of quality. If we can be in the first place in the world, the quality of Turkish goods has a share in. We are a world brand in many productsโ. He explained the other main highlights as follows:
โR&D and innovation are also important. We see this and the added value it creates, especially in our companies with R&D centers. Digitalization is the same. At such a time when physical fairs and customer visits are not possible, it is important for companies to invest in this issue. We should also mention the market diversity here. Although the EU is our most important market, it is very important to be able to protect it. Apart from that, being able to enter new markets with new products is also very big steps to increase our exportsโ.
Technical textile production is increasing
Stating that the works on the digital delegation and digital fair, which entered our lives with the pandemic in 2020, will continue this year as well. Ahmet รksรผz talked about their projects from the past and continuing today.
The Turkish textile industryโs 2021 program includes a fabric fair with England and Russia, a home textile delegation with the USA, as well as meetings and delegations with Poland and some other European countries. Noting that besides, they have worked on technical textiles in terms of producing products with higher added value, Ahmet รksรผz said, โTechnical textiles is one of our sub-sectors, but it is an area where we also produce and increase production in parallel with the rapidly increasing world demandโ.
Relaying that they will continue to work in 2021 within the scope of the sector’s sustainable export targets, รksรผz told that they have established a commission on sustainability in this context and that they will present a roadmap and guide here. Emphasizing the importance of logistic centers, รksรผz noted; โForeign logistic centers that we run with TIM (Turkish Exportersโ Assembly) with the support of the Ministry of Trade will be very important next year and this yearโ.
It will be focused on young people
Ahmet รksรผz stated that the ‘Tercihim Tekstil Mรผhendisliฤi’ project, which is very important in terms of trained human resource, was very successful and that they will continue it in 2021. Noted that thanks to this project, the rankings increased and the textile engineering department approached the old scores, รksรผz completed his words as follows; โThis motivated us a lot. We will focus on the young people a little more. In fact, we are thinking of tend not only to universities but also to high schools and vocational high schools”.