The Route of the Textile Sector for the Upcoming Four Years was determined

Chairman of IHKIB Hikmet Tanrıverdi: “We will reach 30 billion dollars by 2017 by increasing the price of export per kilogram to 35 dollars.”

  01 April 2014 08:07 Tuesday
The Route of the Textile Sector for the Upcoming Four Years was determined

Ready wear manufacturers who focus on an export volume of 19 billion dollars for the year 2014 gathered to set a new route for the sector among the hot agendas of both Turkey and the world. In the meeting where the risks and advantages of 2014 were discussed under the leadership of Istanbul Ready Wear and Apparel Exporters' Association (IHKIB), ready wear manufacturers determined the new route of the sector for the upcoming four years and wanted solutions for the urgent problems list that they submitted to the senior administration of economics in order to catch the target of 30 billion dollars for the end of 2017.

Hikmet Tanrıverdi, the Chairman of IHKIB, and the governing board; Cem Negrin, the Chairman of Turkish Garment Industrialists' Association (TGSD); Ali Ulvi Orhan, the Chairman of Osmanbey Textile Businessmen Association (OTIAD), Gıyaseddin Eyüpkoca, the Chairman of Laleli Industrialists and Businessmen Association (LASIAD), Yusuf Gecü, the Chairman of Merter Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MESIAD), Aydın Erten, the Chairman of Bayrampaşa Textile and Industrialist Businessmen Association (BATIAD), Osman Ege, the Chairman of Apparel Subsidiary Industry Businessmen Association (KYSD), İrfan Özhamaratlı, the Chairman of All Underwear Industrialists’ Association (TIGSAD), Mustafa Balkuv, the Chairman of Turkish Tricot Industrialists’ Association (TRISAD) and Mehtap Elaidi, the Chairman of Fashion Designers’ Association (MTD).

Hikmet Tanrıverdi, the Chairman of IHKIB, stated that they would reach good positions in the far countries and in the USA and Japan, in particular, with stylish and high added value products in addition to strengthening their positions in the markets where they exist after they determined the 4-year new route of the sector.

We Reached our Target in 2013

Stating that they reached the export target specified in the export strategy of 2023 as 17,4 billion dollars with an increase of 8,3 % in 2013, Tanrıverdi added that: “We made an increase of 14,2 % in January, 2014 and the export volume reached to 1,6 billion dollars. We became the sector with the highest volume of export. In February, our export volume continues increasing. We recorded an export volume of 1,5 billion dollars with an increase of 7,2 %.”

Emphasizing that the textile sector is one of three sectors exporting the highest amounts of value added products among 24 sectors in Turkey, Hikmet Tanrıverdi added that: “We are planning to rise the our price per kilogram which is 24 dollars to 30-35 dollars at the end of these 4 years with the support of design, fashion and branding processes in which we are currently investing. While the kilogram price of China is 11 Euros/kg and of Bangladesh is 11 Euros/kg to the EU countries, Turkey exports its ready wear products on the basis of kilogram price of 17 Euros. We sell our products at a unit price which is 36 % higher than the EU average import unit price and 47 % higher than the unit price of China. All these figures prove the success we achieved in the world’s fashion industry. On the other hand, we raised our share market from 12,4 % to 12,9 % from 2009 to 2012 despite those crises, recession and intense pressure of our rivals in Europe.”

Reminding that EU market is the market to which the highest amount of products are exported with 74,1 % among all the country groups, Tanrıverdi stated that: “However, the rate of export made to the countries of the American Continents (the USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico etc.) is only 3,2 %. With an import volume amounting to 73 billion dollars, the USA is the country making the highest amount of ready wear import. However, the export volume of Turkey to the USA amounts to 445 million dollars. It is not possible for us to be contented with such a small amount. Thus, the USA is the region on which we will focus in our 4-year plan.”

The Chinese wall should be abolished

Explaining that they shared the 35 point problems and solution proposals with Nihat Zeyrekçi, the Minister of Economics in their visit to the Ministry on  22 February, Tanrıverdi said that some points act as the Chinese wall before the sector. He summarized the first five points which hinder the export and for which the ready wear industrialists wait for solutions urgently as follows: “lifting the barriers in access to raw materials, eliminating the problems in inward processing regime, simplification of the subsidiary practices and facilitating the processes, supporting the design process of the firms preparing collections and ensuring that P&D benefits from R&D incentive regulations as well and supporting a prestige fair for each sector in domestic market as much as the support in the target country. Hikmet Tanrıverdi expressed that solving these five problems would pave the way for sustainable growth and shorten the time necessary for reaching the targets.

We employed 476 Thousand Individuals

Pointing out to the fact that the ready wear sector has an important place in employment as in the export, Tanrıverdi stated that the textile sector employed a total of 439 thousand individuals and the ready wear sector employed 476 thousand individuals, 230 thousand of whom were female. Hikmet Tanrıverdi said that female employees don’t constitute 48 % of all the employees in any sector and added that: “Textile and ready wear sectors employ 915 thousand individuals in total. However, as the records are not kept properly enough, we doubt that this figure reflects the truth. We provide employment opportunities for at least 1,5 million people and almost half of them are constituted by female workers.”

Telling that they believe that 2014 will be a more positive year for the exporters than 2012 and 2013, Tanrıverdi said that they work hard to the extent possible in order to prepare the ready wear sector to the conditions of the future including branding and design as well as innovation and R&D.

We Feel Uneasy about the Situation in Ukraine

Hikmet Tanrıverdi, the Chairman of IHKIB, emphasized that the tension between Russia and Ukraine which occupies the global agenda now would affect the Turkish ready wear export in an adverse manner. Stating that they feel uneasy about the recent events, Tanrıverdi added that: “We had an export volume of 333 million dollars in Ukraine in 2013 with an increase of 73 % in comparison to the previous year. We don’t want to experience problems in the growing market. Unfortunately, the economic and political fluctuations in the neighbouring countries affect us negatively. We hope that the crisis is solved without delay.”


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