Turkey’s clothing and textile exports fell 1% to US$8.73bn year-on-year for the six-month period from January to June 2019, according to new data from the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (IHKIB).
Overall goods exports for Turkey rose 2.2% to $88bn over the period – with clothing and textiles representing 9.9% of this. But in the month June, exports of ready-made garments totalled $1.1bn, a fall of 19.5% year-on-year.
The importers of the largest amount of Turkish garment and apparel products were Germany, Spain and the UK. Exports to Germany fell 9.3% to $1.5bn and to Spain fell 2.7% to $1.1bn over the six months. Exports to the UK fell 1.4% to $946.4m. Other major export markets over the six month period included the Netherlands, France, Iraq, the US, Italy and Israel.
In terms of product categories, exports of knitted garments fell to $4.4bn, while woven garments and accessories grew 2% to $3.3bn.
According to the re:source by just-style strategic sourcing tool, textile and apparel are considered one of the backbones of the Turkish industry, along with automotives. Apparel shipments from Turkey currently enjoy duty-free access to the European Union (through the Euro-Mediterranean Economic Partnership Agreement and the EU Customs Union), making this the largest export market.
To boost production and export, the government is targeting infrastructure improvements, adding new railways for easier transportation. There are also plans to increase the number of logistics centres from eight to 21. These improvements should further shorten already speedy delivery to the EU while mitigating higher labour and input costs.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData
