World Carpet Industry Met in Turkiye

The second edition of the Carpet and Flooring Expo (CFE), which was organized for the first time by the Turkish carpet industry last year and attracted great attention, took place at the Istanbul Expo Center. The fair hosted 600 companies, 450 of which were domestic and 150 foreign, and brought together all the sector’s players. In 11 halls, hundreds of domestic and foreign brands presented the latest products to the visitors.

“A total of 600 companies from 18 countries participated”

CFE 2025 Carpet and Flooring Expo 2025, held at Istanbul Expo Center (IFC) Yeşilköy Istanbul, in cooperation with Istanbul Carpet Exporters’ Association (IHİB), Southeastern Anatolian Carpet Exporters’ Association (GAHİB) and TÜYAP Tüm Fuarcılık Yapım A.Ş., opened its doors. While there was a great interest in the fair, which was held between 7-10 January, the area of the fair expanded by 30% compared to last year and increased to 120 thousand square meters. A total of 600 companies from 18 countries participated in the fair, which hosted one of the largest meetings of the carpet and floor coverings industry.

Ahmet Hayri Diler, Chairman of the Board of Istanbul Carpet Exporters’ Association (IHİB), stated that they are extremely happy to meet once again with the most important representatives of the carpet industry in Turkiye and in the world in Istanbul, and noted that the fair, where the latest innovations and products in the sector are showcased, is one of the largest meetings in the world.

Diler stated that the fair contributes to the development of trade and the future vision of the sector as well as promoting Turkiye’s rich carpet and weaving culture, and said, “Such platforms are of great importance both to introduce our culture to the world and to strengthen our exports. Together, we are moving towards our goal of seeing Turkish carpets at higher heights.”

‘We exceeded last year’s success’

Stating that everyone saw the success of the CFE Carpet and Flooring Expo last year, Diler said, “This year, we managed to expand our fair even more by building on this success. The number of exhibitors and visitors has increased, our fair has reached a wider recognition in the international arena and the window of our Turkish carpets to the world has grown even more. We see that the most important element based on this success is unity and solidarity. This fair, which was realized in partnership with İHİB, GAHİB and TÜYAP, once again showed how important it is to act together and join forces. Thanks to this spirit of solidarity, we have taken great steps to move forward not only our industry but also our country around the world.”

Stating that the fair not only promotes Turkiye’s rich carpet and weaving culture, but also contributes to the development of trade and the future vision of the sector, Diler said, “This year, we are happy to see that the spirit of cooperation and sharing among the sector representatives has been further strengthened. Turkish carpets are not just a product, they are the representative of a culture, a history and a unique craft. For this reason, such platforms are very important to introduce our culture to the world and strengthen our exports. Together, we are moving towards our goal of seeing Turkish carpets at higher heights. I am confident that we will carry this year’s achievements much further in the coming years.”

“Turkiye is playing to the top in the carpet industry”

In his speech at the opening ceremony of the fair, Deputy Minister of Trade Mahmut Gürcan emphasized Turkiye’s success in the carpet industry and said: “Our country, which has achieved the second largest export figure in the world, is reaching higher figures in the carpet sector day by day. It brings great added value to our country by increasing investment, employment and exports. We continue to increase our carpet exports to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and England, especially to America.”

“We Are Warming the World with the Gaziantep Model”

Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Şahin, on the other hand, touched on the importance of Istanbul and Gaziantep in her speech and said, “We are in Istanbul, the heart of cities. We are in a city that is very valuable to us. We brought our greetings from the capital of the carpet,” he said. Stating that they are working with the ‘Gaziantep model’, Şahin said, “All of these friends you see have a great effort and a big heart. They work like lions, and at the end of the day, the artifact warms the whole world. It returns to the whole world as a design center. It turns into a communication center for the whole world. And at the end of the day, both our country and Anatolian wisdom spread all over the world,” he said, emphasizing the role of Gaziantep in the carpet industry.

“Our 2025 Target is 279 Billion Dollars of Export”

Mustafa Gültepe, Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), touched on the importance of the fair for the sector and said: “The carpet industry is one of our distinguished sectors, especially Gaziantep is gaining this success with a large Antep model of 80-85%. Our carpet industry closed the year 2024 with 3-4% plus points. In 2024, we signed 262 billion dollars of exports together. Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to reach 279 billion dollars, which is our target for 2025.”

“The World’s Largest Carpet Fair is Now in Turkiye”

Şekib Avdagiç, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, drew attention to the importance of organizing the fair in Istanbul and said, “Especially with the prudent behavior of our two exporters’ associations on this issue and the leadership of our TİM Chairman on this issue, the largest fair in the world is now held in Turkiye.” Avdagiç said, “As the management of the Istanbul World Trade Center and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, we will do our best to further develop this beautiful fair on an international scale. Hopefully, this year will be an auspicious, fruitful and healthy year in which we will increase our exports, as our esteemed president said.”