Turkish textile and raw materials sector exports declined by 5% in the January-June period compared to the same period of 2023, decreasing from 5.8 billion dollars to 5.6 billion dollars. According to the data in the ‘2024 June Export Performance’ report published by İTHİB, apparel and garment exports, which were worth 8.8 billion in the same period last year, decreased by 13.6 percent to 7.6 billion dollars. During this period, Türkiye’s general export figures increased by 2% and reached a value of 125.4 billion dollars, while the textile and raw materials sector had a share of 4.4% in general exports, and the apparel and garment sector had a share of 6.1%.
When export figures were examined on a country basis, Italy, Germany and the USA stood out among the countries to which Türkiye exported the most textiles. While exports to Italy were 467 million dollars in the first six months of 2023, this figure decreased by 6.5% to 436 million dollars in 2024. Exports to Germany declined by 11.1%, from 408 million dollars to 363 million dollars. Exports to the USA increased by 7.6%, from 336 million dollars to 361 million dollars.
The biggest decrease in Turkish textile exports was in knitted fabrics and home textiles
A decline was also recorded in the first 3 most exported product groups in the January-June period. In this period, woven fabric exports decreased by 7.3% compared to the previous year, decreasing from 1,242 billion dollars to 1,152 billion dollars. In the same period, compared to the previous year, technical textile exports decreased by 2.5% from 1,126 billion dollars to 1,098 billion dollars; Yarn exports decreased by 0.7% from 1,058 billion dollars to 1,051 billion dollars. On the basis of product groups, the biggest decline in exports was observed in knitted fabrics with a rate of 12% and in home textiles with a rate of 13.6%. The only product group in which export figures increased was fibre, with a rate of 4.7%.
When looking at the capacity utilization rates in the Turkish textile industry in the January-June period of 2024, a steady increase, although at low rates, is remarkable. Accordingly, the capacity utilization rate, which was 69.5% in January, reached 73.3% in June.