Textile Industry Met at Texhibition Istanbul Fair

Texhibition Istanbul Fabric, Yarn and Textile Accessories Fair, a ‘showcase’ for the Turkish textile industry, opened its doors for the sixth time. While there were 527 companies at the fair, which took place on September 11-13 at the Istanbul Expo Center, guests from more than 100 countries and more than 28 thousand professional visitors were hosted during the fair.

More than 500 companies came together at Texhibition Istanbul with a wide range of products from weaving to knitted fabrics, from yarn to denim, and from artificial leather to textile accessories. The opening of the Texhibition Istanbul Fair, which was attended by 28 thousand professionals invited from more than 100 countries, was attended by Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) Chairman Mustafa Gültepe, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) President Şekib Avdagiç, Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) President Erdal Bahçıvan, Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ITHIB) Chairman Ahmet Öksüz, Presidents of Chambers of Commerce and Industry,  It was held with the participation of Exporters’ Union Presidents and sectoral associations.

Minister Bolat’s Emphasis on Circular Economy and Sustainable Exports

Pointing out that Turkey has become an important supplier of global brands in the textile and raw materials sector, Minister of Trade Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat said; that the sector continues to be a source of pride for Turkey. Bolat; “As the Ministry of Commerce, in an atmosphere where green transformation is at the center of the global agenda, we continue to expand our support, especially with a focus on green transformation, in order to maintain our competitiveness in our exports and to strengthen our exporters’ positions in global value chains by producing products that comply with environmental standards. In this context, with the European Green Deal Adaptation Project Support, we provide financing support for 5 years, at a rate of 50% and up to 10 million TL in total, for the consultancy service expenses to be received by the companies. Thus, while maintaining the competitiveness of our exporters in global markets, especially in Europe, we also contribute to the fulfillment of their environmental responsibilities.”

In his speech at the opening, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said that the textile industry continues to produce despite the change in all consumption and production dynamics. Noting that the Turkey and Istanbul brand will not only maintain the place it deserves with the coordination of chambers and unions among themselves, as well as this entrepreneurship of the sector but will also go further, Gül thanked those who contributed to the organization and the participants.

”We Will Increase Our Competitiveness with Green Transformation”

Mustafa Gültepe, Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), noted that Turkey differs from other countries in textile and ready-to-wear production with its quality, speed and flexible production capability and that our geographical proximity to Europe makes Turkey a preferred supplier in global markets.

Gültepe; “As TIM and exporters’ associations, we have completed our sectoral sustainability action plans. We have commissioned our projects for green transformation such as GreenTİM and EcoTİM. With the green transformation, we will increase our competitive advantage. In the long term, we have an export target of 40 billion dollars in the ready-to-wear sector and 20 billion dollars in the textile sector. I believe that we will reach these figures quickly with the normalization of conditions.”

 “Sustainable Textiles Should Be a Permanent Item”

Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) President Şekib Avdagiç stated that there is a constant change in the focus of textile, which is the largest employer sector in Turkey. Avdagiç said: “We have the potential to increase the share of our textile industry in the world textile market to 6-7 percent. This should be a government policy as well as a sector policy. The encouragement, support and contributions of the public should not be missing from the sector. We also have a role to play in achieving these goals. For example, EU countries and the USA are among the countries we export the most. Therefore, we should be the sector that fulfills the conditions of the European Green Deal without imposing regulations. Therefore, the concept of ‘sustainable textiles’ should be a permanent item on our agenda. If we achieve these, our export potential will also increase.”

“We Expect ‘Prestigious Fair’ Support from Our Ministry in the Country”

Ahmet Öksüz said, “Although there will be a decrease of up to 50 percent in the world’s leading textile fairs in 2024, the strong crowd at our fair summarizes everything. Our fair, which goes one step further in every period, makes a valuable contribution not only to the acceleration of the wheels in our textile industry but also to the promotion of Istanbul and the Turkish economy. Our non-profit fair is even more important today for our industry, which is going through a bottleneck. There is a contraction in global demand, but we want to continue our growth with alternative markets. We are working with all our strength to attract even more buyers to Istanbul, which is an important center of world trade, and to provide added value to Turkey.”

“We will Continue to Produce, Export and Create Employment”

Ahmet Öksüz continued his words as follows: “Unfortunately, the year 2023 did not pass as we wanted due to the effect of the earthquake disaster we experienced. In 2024, the contraction in global demand and the increase in production costs directly affect our exports. The development of our country and the way out of this bottleneck on a global scale is only possible with closer coordination and close communication with all levels of our state. The expectations of our exporters regarding the prevention of high production costs and market loss risks should be met. This burden can only be lifted as a result of the joint action of the real sector and public cooperation. In this context, as part of the Turkish textile industry, we will continue to produce and export more value-added products and create employment. Today, we should spend more effort on branding and determining new roadmaps for branded exports, just like our Texhibition Istanbul Fair, which is a brand in its field today.”