“The Problems of the Textile Industry and Solution Suggestions Panel” organized by the Textile and Leather Industry Board of Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) was held with the presence of MUSIAD Textile and Leather Industry Board Chairman Mehment Haluk Şahin and Şahinler Holding’s Board Chairman Kemal Şahin and Osmanbey Textile Businessmen Association OTIAD Chairman İlker Karataş. Haluk Şahin was the moderator of the panel and Şahinler Holding’s Board Chairman Kemal Şahin; “Turkey has a big potential in textile industry and there is no other city as dynamic as Istanbul in terms of fashion and design,” he said.
“Istanbul Has a Big Potential. Let’s Be Aware”
At the panel, where the status of textile in the world and in Turkey was evaluated, the potential and opportunities in textile and the problems and possible solutions have been discussed. Şahinler Holding’s Board Chairman Kemal Şahin evaluated the textile industry’s situation and stated that: “There are a plenty of designers and textile engineers in Istanbul. Istanbul has a big potential in textile industry. Let’s be aware of this. There is no other city as dynamic as Istanbul in terms of fashion and design. We don’t need to seek anything in China or in America,” he said.
Şahin indicating that supply speed is one of the most important issues for the textile industry continued as follows: “There is no other country than Turkey in the world to manufacture 5 lorries of product in a month. China and America are not big markets for Turkey. There are two kinds of markets for Turkey. The first one is EU market. Prices in EU are competitive. If we are going to appeal the EU market, it is quite hard to do business in small shops. If you fit Turkey’s competition structure to EU market, we can do business there,” he said. Şahin mentioned that the second market is Russia, China and Middle East and noted: “The purchase power of Russia decreased due to embargos and oil prices. Sales can be done to Middle East and local market with cheap work force and production. There are many opportunities in this market but politics influence us too much,” he said. Şahin underlining that you can win if investments are done in points that will create added value in textile: “Turkey has a big potential with its own creativity. We have to search and found them,” he said.
“Textile Industry Members Need to Be Self-Confident”
Osmanbey Textile Businessmen’s Association (OTIAD) Chairman İlker Karataş mentioned that the industry is constituted of mainly SMEs and noted: “We have to internalize what kind of industry we are. Our industry representatives lack self confidence. As a member of this industry, we need to have a high degree of self-confidence. The volume of textile industry exports is 414 billion dollars. Turkey ranks as the 6th biggest supplier with its share of 4%. Home textiles have a volume of 75 billion dollars and Turkey is the 4th largest supplier in the world. We are the second largest supplier in the world after China in socks industry. We also rank among the top suppliers in underwear. These figures are pretty enough to have a high degree of self-confidence,” he assessed.
"We Can Realize Targets If We Sustain a Quality SME Structure”
Karataş pointed out that there are problems arousing due to the lack of a national textile policy and noted: “Outsourcing is still the case. Textile and ready wear industry is still the largest industry in Turkey and it has no alternative. We do not have a quality SME structure. It is mentioned that there are around 50-55 thousand companies in the industry. Around 20 thousand companies are manufacturers and exporters. We can realize our targets if we sustain a quality SME structure,” he said.
At the end of the speeches, CPM Software Board Chairman Recep Palamut presented Kemal Şahin a certificate for ÇEKÜD. İlker Yazıcı received his certificate from MÜSİAD Textile and Leather Industry Board’s former Chairman Ahmet Yazıcı.
