203 Million Dollar Exports from Aegean Textile Manufacturers in the First Half of 2024
The Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ETHIB), one of the leading organisations that took the first and most important steps towards sustainability in Turkey, left the first half of 2024 behind with exports worth 203 million dollars.
Jak Eskinazi, Coordinator Chairman of the Aegean Exporters’ Associations and Chairman of the Board of the Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association, said: “In the first half of 2024, Turkey’s overall textile and raw materials exports decreased by 3.8% to 4.6 billion dollars. Our association, on the other hand, exported 203 million dollars with a 10% decrease. When evaluated on the basis of product group, the most cotton fibre exports were made from our union and the most exports other than cotton were made in carpets, artificial-synthetic knitted fabrics, bed linen and cotton woven fabrics. In the first half of 2024, the first country in our exports was China with 21 million dollars. China is followed by Jordan, Pakistan, Italy, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Iran, Belgium, Tunisia, Portugal.”
“We will See Future More Easily from Mid-2025”
President Eskinazi said, “Especially in the last three years, our economy has been facing the problem of high inflation and accordingly, we have gone through a period in which price competition has become very important due to instabilities in basic indicators such as interest and exchange rates. For the first half of 2025, we can state that prices will be more rational and healthier, and exporters will be able to see a little further ahead. If Turkey regains its lost exchange rate advantage, we will see future ahead more easily from the middle of 2025. In 2024, I think that our textile exports will be realised in a way to maintain the current situation.”
President Eskinazi said that they will carry out promotional activities for the USA with the Turquality project that will cover the years 2024-2028, which they plan to carry out jointly with all textile unions. Eskinazi continued as follows:
“We are planning to organise a Sectoral Trade Delegation to the Netherlands on 15-19 September 2024 within the scope of our P&D Project for the Development of Sustainable Competition in the Textile Sector. On 18 September, we will provide a useful environment for the participating companies to make basic connections and collaborations for a sustainable future with the delegation to be carried out in parallel with the Circular Textile Days programme. Participants will have the opportunity to see sustainability examples and innovations in the textile sector with company visits operating in the field of circular economy. The 82nd Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), which has many sessions on cotton production, consumption and price projection as well as sustainability issues, will be held in Uzbekistan between 30 September and 3 October this year, and the meeting will be attended by our association.”
President Eskinazi stated that they received the approval of the Ministry of Commerce on 14 June 2024 for their third Ur-Ge project, “Carpet Export Development P&D Project” and concluded his words as follows: “With the support of Demirci Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 19 companies operating in Manisa Demirci, one of the most important carpet production centres of Turkey, joined forces in the “Carpet Export Development” Ur-Ge Project under the roof of ETHİB to increase the awareness of Demirci carpets in international markets. We aim to expand the share of the carpet sector in the international product market by increasing the product diversity in exports of the carpet sector, which brings 2 billion 752 million dollars of foreign currency to Turkey in 2023.”
