Visiting Intertextile Shanghai Fair held in Shanghai in March with participation of more than 3000 participants from different countries, İsmail Gülle, Chairman of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB) answered our questions about the fair and Chinese Textile market and shared his comments with us.
Stating that Intertextile Shanghai Fair organized on an area covering 27 thousand square meters on 16-18 March 2016 is one of the leading fairs of China, İTHİB Chairman Gülle, added that, “Spring edition of the fair was important since it was organized after a two-year period. Focusing mainly on bed covers, quilt cover sets and towels, the fair is one of the leading fairs of China in terms of international participation. This year fair was especially outstanding since it was held together with garment, yarn and CICH leather fairs.”
Answering our questions about the competition between Turkish and Chinese textile sectors, Gülle reminded that China which has a population over 1 billion and is one of the largest countries of the world in terms of surface is switching to the free market economy from central government and drew attention to the fact that economic activities are still governed and supported by the state. Gülle continued saying that, “Textile sector grew with supports from the state as a sector of priority since it offers employment for a wider audience in the planned growth model of China. In this respect, when the Turkish textile sector and Chinese textile sector are compared, the first thing to say is the capacity difference between these two sectors. The second one is that Chinese textile sector is established and supported by the state while the Turkish textile sector developed and became competitive with the help of the entrepreneurs in our country as a traditional sector. In the development of the Chinese textile sector, the fact that international buyers switched their production facilities to this country as of 1970s has been effective. Making a high capacity of production with central management and planning, China has become a striking production centre for the buyers.”
“We Exhibit Our Difference with Quality Products”
Stating that such features considered as advantages of China in today’s global competition environment cannot get ahead of the competitiveness of the Turkish textile sector, Gülle added that, “Competitiveness of our products results from numerous factors such as design, quality, fast delivery and compliance with social and environmental standards. In this respect, our products distinguish from simple product production at high capacity. As of the Ottoman Empire, we have increased our production and export capacities in the textile sector as a sector exhibiting its difference especially in cotton-blended quality products and have taken concrete and significant steps for being a fashion country.”
“China is Among the First 25 Export Markets”
Stating that China can be an alternative market for the Turkish products with its consumption potential, Gülle continued his remarks by saying that, “We, as the Turkish textile sector, believe that China is not only a production centre and will prefer the Turkish products which distinguish in terms of quality and design with its constantly growing population having moderate and high purchasing power. This is valid for both the internal market of China and international purchasers making production in China. As a matter of fact, in the last years, our fabric export to China has increased by 15 % on average and China entered into the first 25 export markets of Turkey in 2015.”
Stating that the interest of the Turkish firms in the fair was limited but the participants left the fair by hoping to participate once again, Chairman Gülle added that, “China has always seen as a distant country. However, there is a potential market for the Turkish products here and therefore, it is essential to be aware of and make use of this potential.”
