Exports of ready-made clothing in Turkey in 2018 are estimated at $ 18.8 billion.
Head of Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (IHKIB) Mustafa Gultepe recalled that the export of ready-made clothes in Turkey in 2017 amounted to about $ 17 billion and this accounted for 10.8 percent of the total Turkish exports.
According to him, revenues from the export of ready-made clothes last year amounted to about $ 14 billion. “The export of ready-made clothes brings not a small income to the state. The manufacture of ready-made clothing also ranks second after the service sector in terms of the number of jobs, in particular for women. The production of ready-made clothes and textiles in general has an export potential of $ 28 billion and thus is inferior in exports only in the automotive industry, ” Gultepe said.
Gultepe said that Turkey is the fifth largest exporter of ready-made clothes in the world, and the third in Europe.
In addition, Gultepe said that the production of ready-made garments and the market are constantly expanding, however, to increase the export of value-added goods, Turkish manufacturers primarily focus on the design of clothes.
“The principle of ‘selling goods cheaper’ is not effective given the current market realities. Our goal is to increase the value of exported products through innovation. In the near future, we intend to increase the cost of one kilogram of exported products to $ 25, and then to $ 30, ” said Gultepe.
“By the end of the year, the export of ready-made clothes will reach $ 18 billion and we intend to increase exports in 2019 by at least 10 percent to $ 19.5–20 billion,” he said.
According to Gultepe, ready-made clothing from Turkey is very popular in Western European and other neighboring countries. “The number of Turkish clothing stores in neighboring countries has reached three thousand. At least 10-15 new stores open monthly. Our stores are in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iraq, Iran, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and in many other countries. In the future, we intend to open our boutiques in Europe and America, ”Gultepe said.
