AHKIB’s Exports of 39.2 Million Dollars with an Increase of 28% in August
Gürkan Tekin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mediterranean Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association (AHKIB) announced that they exported 39.2 million dollars in August, an increase of 28% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Noting that 80% of the region’s exports are clustered in women’s outerwear, men’s outerwear, and other ready-to-wear goods, AHKIB President Gürkan Tekin stated that while they reached the highest values in the Dutch, Spanish, and Ukrainian markets, they achieved the strongest increases in export volume in the United Arab Emirates-Dubai, Albania and Romania markets.
Stating that the Turkish ready-to-wear and apparel industry reached an export value of 1.67 billion dollars in August and that its export performance remained flat compared to the same period of the previous year, Gürkan Tekin emphasized that the sector is going through a very painful process due to the fact that input costs and exchange rates do not move in parallel.
Tekin stated that the sector urgently needs long-term loans with affordable interest rates supported by Eximbank and Credit Guarantee Fund (KGF) to maintain its gains in international markets, especially in European Union countries, and to strengthen its competitiveness.
“It is extremely important to encourage production with high brand value”
Emphasizing that the Turkish ready-to-wear and apparel industry differentiates positively from its competitors in the world market with its fast production, high quality, sustainability, and design power, Tekin underlined that it is extremely important to encourage value-added and high-brand value production in this critical process. Tekin said, “We expect incentives to be provided to our companies in R&D and P&D investments to develop the design ecosystem in our technology-oriented, environmentally friendly, and high brand value export target. We expect our government to develop new support mechanisms in the fields of innovation, brand and design, to make Eximbank loans available more, and to provide unsecured loans supported by the Credit Guarantee Fund (KGF).”
“AHKIB’s Top Export Countries in August are the Netherlands, Spain and Ukraine”
Evaluating AHKIB’s export performance in August according to product groups and countries, Tekin said: “In the 8th month of the year, we evaluated 5,903 tons of products in international markets. 80% of our exports in August were clustered in women’s outerwear, men’s outerwear, and other ready-to-wear goods. We exported $17.1 million in women’s outerwear, $9.8 million in men’s outerwear, and $3.3 million in other ready-to-wear goods. In the said period, we achieved significant increases in the exports of artificial-synthetic (SS) sportswear and swimwear, woolen bedwear, woolen (home textile) and artificial-synthetic (SS) bedwear. When we examine our regional exports in August by country, the Netherlands, Spain, and Ukraine were the markets where we exported the most. We exported $13.3 million to the Netherlands, $3.6 million to Spain, and $2.9 million to Ukraine.”
