Textile exports from Turkey are expected to increase owing to the gradual recovery of the economy of the European Union (EU), as well as entry into newer markets such as the US, South America and North Korea, said Uludag Textile Exporters Association (UTIB) chairman Ibrahim Burkay during the Annual General Meeting of the Bursa Organized Industrial Zone (BSOB) in the Turkish city of Bursa.
During the meeting, the UTIB chairman said that the EU has been the main destination of textile exports from the country, accounting for more than 40 percent of the overall textiles exported from Turkey, and a recovery of the EU economy could result in an increase in Turkish textile exports, reports haberler.com.
According to the UTIB chairman, the textile and clothing industry of Turkey, especially sub-sectors such as technical and functional textiles, are extremely important for the growth of the country’s economy.
Technical and functional textiles account for 15 and 25 percent, respectively, of the overall textile industry output in the country, and once the Bursa Center for Textile Excellence is established in the city, a transition to more exports from these two sectors could be expected within the next four-year period, he added.
During the first two months of this year, textile and raw material exports from Turkey totaled US$ 1.48 billion, registering a rise of 11.6 percent, compared to the same period in 2013, as per the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters Association (ITKIB) data.
The EU remained the main destination for textile and raw material exports from Turkey, accounting for 47.9 percent of the overall textile and raw material exports from the country during January to February, 2014.
