The Turkish Textile Industry Continues 2025 with a Balanced and Cautious Growth Trend
The Turkish textile and raw materials sector completed the January–October period of 2025 with a complex outlook shaped by global economic fluctuations and cost pressures in the domestic market. While certain product groups and markets performed strongly in exports, the decline in production and capacity utilization brought a cautious sentiment to the sector.
Flat Trend in Exports, Differentiated Performance Across Product Groups
The sector’s monthly export trend fluctuated throughout the year. Some months saw double-digit increases, followed by declines in the subsequent months. In the January–October 2025 period, technical textile exports grew by 4.5%. Woven fabric exports increased by 0.02%, and yarn exports rose by 1.6%. Home textile exports decreased by 2.7%, while knitted fabric exports fell by 9.1%. Fiber exports increased by 6.5%, contributing positively to the sector. Apparel accessories, however, declined by 1.1%, showing weak performance.
This picture shows that exports continue to strengthen in value-added areas such as technical textiles and fiber, while demand remains constrained in traditional categories such as home textiles and knitted fabrics.
Italy and the USA in the Lead: Gradual Growth in Country-Based Exports
In the January–October period, Türkiye’s largest textile markets were once again Italy, the USA, Egypt, Germany, and Spain. Exports to Italy increased by 0.5% in tonnage terms. The USA showed strong demand with a 7.9% rise. Egypt stood out with a 26.8% increase. Double-digit export growth was also recorded in the Pakistan market (26.2%) and the Morocco market (18.5%). This performance demonstrates that Türkiye maintains its competitiveness particularly in nearby regions and the US market.
In October specifically, sharp increases and decreases were observed in some countries. Exports to Iran rose by 53.6%. Double-digit declines occurred in markets such as Belarus, Pakistan, and China.
Technical Textiles and Fiber Took the Lead
When analyzed by product groups during January–October 2025, technical textile exports reached 1.963 billion dollars, making it the strongest segment of the sector. Growth in value-added technical products indicates that the industry’s transformation strategy is progressing in the right direction.
The 6.5% increase in fiber exports also signals sustained competitiveness in raw material–based products.
Capacity Utilization Declined, Contraction in Production Became More Pronounced
Despite the generally flat trend in exports, the production index and capacity utilization rate were the main indicators reflecting the pressure within the sector. Over the past 12 months, textile industry production dropped by 4%, while manufacturing industry production fell by 1.5%. The capacity utilization rate of the textile industry remained stuck in the 69–72% range throughout the year, staying below the previous year’s levels. These data show that although export demand is being maintained, normalization in production has not yet been achieved.
Flat Trend in Employment
Employment in the textile and apparel sectors remained on a flat course throughout the year. Textile sector employment stood at the 380–400 thousand range, while apparel employment ranged between 550–700 thousand. The employment data indicate that although there has been no significant loss, signals of growth also remained limited.
During the January–October 2025 period, the Turkish textile sector continued to grow in value-added products and achieved strong increases in certain markets, but experienced declines in production and capacity utilization. The growth in technical textiles and fiber categories is promising for the sector’s transformation goals, while the contraction in production and the declines in some product groups bring a cautious outlook for 2026.
