Merter will Reach to 10 Billion Dollars in Exports in 2025
Merter Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MESIAD) President Gürbüz Oruç, who said that there will be greater opportunities in the Turkish textile sector in 2025 despite global fluctuations, said; “Merter is preparing to take advantage of these opportunities. We aim to transform Merter into a fashion center next year and reach a trade volume of 10 billion dollars.”
Oruç, who stated that Turkiye should start a sectoral transformation such as urban transformation, especially in the textile and garment sector, stated that they started working as MESİAD to reach the 10 billion dollar export target. Oruç expressed that; “Within the scope of new markets, we are working especially on African, Middle Eastern and Asian markets. We plan to differentiate ourselves with the most innovative products in sustainability-oriented markets.”
“We Have to Start the Transformation Initiative in Textiles”
Expressing that Turkiye has reached a good point in textile and garment but has not been able to institutionalize, Oruç said: “Maybe not in ready-to-wear but in textile, we produce fabric for many brands in the world. We are very good at denim. We have not been able to raise the bar by branding and attract young people to the sector. Young people are not doing their fathers’ jobs. Now, we have to start a transformation initiative like the defense industry.”
Gürbüz Oruç, who said that the Turkish textile sector could emerge from this crisis by becoming stronger and becoming a brand, said, “We have progressed on the advantage of cheap prices until now. But now we need to become a global brand like THY. In other words, the customer should say ‘it is expensive but worth it’. We have brands that have achieved this. For example, Punto sells jackets for 150 thousand dollars. Because they are not asking ‘how can I produce this cheaper’ but ‘how can I make this more qualified and sell it more expensive’. We need to make this a sector policy.”
It is also of great importance for companies to invest in R&D studies, focus on innovation and accelerate digitalization. Stating that the annual turnover of textile companies in the Merter region is approximately 5 billion dollars, Oruç said, “The Merter region hosts textile companies that provide employment to thousands of people. It is estimated that the total employment provided by companies that are members of MESİAD is 100-150 thousand people. This employment covers a wide range of areas such as production, design, marketing and export.”
“Human resource deficit will grow in 2025”
Expressing that the digitalization of production processes will accelerate in 2025, smart textile applications will become widespread and this transformation will increase the global competitiveness of the sector, Oruç said, “At the same time, companies that invest in environmentally friendly production methods will be the rising stars of the market. Another important expectation for 2025 will be the increase in exports and the discovery of new markets. Exporters need to develop flexible and fast solutions to open up to these new markets.
In addition to traditional markets such as the EU and the US, Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific regions will also offer great opportunities for the Turkish textile sector in the coming period,” he said. On the other hand, Oruç explained that technological investments will find more place in the production processes of innovative technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence and the internet of things in 2025, and commented, “Companies that do not invest in these technologies will be left behind in the global market, and new technology integration will create a competitive advantage.”
