One of the most important textile industry regions, Bursa exports to Russia, Germany, Romania, Iran, England, Italy and Poland and more than 180 countries. At the end of 2014, İbrahim Burkay, who is Chairman of Executive Board of UTIB, one of the architects of the success of Uludağ Textile Exporters Association (UTİB), and Chairman of Executive Board of Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), answered the questions of our Magazine Group.
2014 was Tough for Us
Expressing that the export volume of UTIB reached to 1,412 billion dollars with an increase of 4,5 %, Mr. Burkay said that Germany, Russia, Britain, Romania and Iran were the countries which recorded the maximum import volume from Turkey in the field of textile. Stating that they exported to Germany and Russia by decreasing 3 % and 13 % and these volumes amounted 147 million dollars and 133 million dollars, respectively; and that they exported to England, Romaine and Iran, by increasing 14 %, 11 % and 18 % and these volumes amounted 90 million dollars, 87 million dollars and 68 million dollars, respectively, İbrahim Burkay said that " We continue to increase our exports in a stable manner since 2008 economic downturn although the year 2014 was tough for us. This situation is the result of our market diversification success and our struggle against unfair competition in imports.
Expressing that there were fluctuations in terms of geopolitics and politics in 2014, İbrahim Burkay emphasized that there are threats in the fields of investment and finance because of the confusions in Middle East and risk of recession in demands of consumers because of fluctuations in exchange rates. Stating that the decline in oil prices affects positively Turkey's economy, Burkay said that: "The oil prices reduced 50 % in 6 months and these prices relieved the pressure on the current account deficit; this situation may affect positively the growth of the economy in Turkey. We expect that the decrease in oil prices would affect the company's energy costs. Saying that the turbulence experienced in Russian economy derived from the erosion of rouble affected adversely the competitiveness of the exporters who export to Russia, Mr. Burkay stated that they expect that the EU and Russian markets would be stabilized.
Burkay said that they, as UTIB, want to reach their export target $ 1 billion 600 million in 2015. Stating that the decline in oil prices affected positively Turkey's economy, Burkay said that: "The pressure on the current account deficit reduced with the decline in oil prices at the rate of 50 % in 6 months. This situation may affect positively the growth of Turkey's economy. We expect that the decrease in oil prices would affect the company's energy costs.”
We Stood Out Among Our Rivals
Expressing that Turkey has a significant place in the field of textile, Burkay stated that Turkish industrialists offer high quality in all the fields such as design, marketing, production and promotion. “We have increased our competitiveness with our products based on innovation and our own designs compared to our rivals. With the Ministry of Economy, we continue to operate a number of mechanisms based on international law against imports based on unfair competition, which is one of the most important problems in the sector." said Mr. Burkay and he added that: "Another important problem that we encountered was the lack of coordination in the sector. Our strong companies saw that they would be much more powerful when they move together. In this context, we conduct lots of activities such as national participations and project markets. Unlike the past, we have established BUTEKOM and Textile Centre of Excellence which provide the firms to move together. In this regard, the sector changed its method, which means saving the day, and adopted a vision including plans about future and it will continue to increase its success during 2015.
Emphasizing that the use and sustainability of high value-added clothing and technical textile production are very important subjects for Turkish textile industry, Burkay said that the resources allocated to R & D have showed a significant increase in the last ten years and he added that: "It is aimed that 3 percent of national income would be allocated for R&D and 2 percent of this amount would be performed by the private sector. We believe that these targets will be compelling reason during the works to be done in order to reach at the level of developed countries. In order to achieve high growth rate, we should concentrate on reforms to increase total factor productivity. The most effective way to increase productivity is to concentrate on research and development activities as well as innovations. In order to finance Turkey's current account deficit and the other weak sides, the factor productivity must be increased. The only way to increase the factor productivity is to develop innovation, science, technology and design.”
Bursa Stood Out in Heimtextil
Stating that they attended Heimtextil International Home Textiles and Textile Products Trade Fair with their "Turkish Home Textile" concept, Mr. Burkay said that the fair is very important for Turkey in terms of its dominance in the global market. Saying that following new designs and the positions of the rivals is very important in order to preserve and increase the customer portfolio, Burkay stated that: “The power of Turkey in the field of home textile have been shown in order to develop its export volume to target companies, lead to branding by improving its image abroad and introduce Turkish brands in the field of textile to all over the world.”
Fairs Attract Attention From Around the World
Pointing out to the fact that the fairs held in the textile sector are important, Burkay said that these organizations offer opportunities for firms in order to conduct product presentation, measure the reaction of the customer, identify the potential customers and find new distributions channels. "The fair are now organized at international levels and the visitors from all over the world can attend the fair. These fairs contribute the city's economy and culture and they have also multiple effects such as the contribution to the economy or the revival of the national economy thanks to infrastructure and superstructure investments, accommodation and souvenir purchases as well. Participating in the commercial trade fairs offers the companies a lot of opportunities such as collecting the information that will guide works to be done in the future, making sales or establishing new business relations. Therefore, the end of the fairs is out of the question.
However, it is possible to say that the economic crisis experienced in Europe affected negatively the quality and the quantity of the fair. We see that some important fairs are in downtrend. There are many reasons for this situation; one of them is the negative economic situation of the country where the fair is organized. The fairs, which are in a downtrend, have to offer alternative solutions and increase their attractiveness of interest in order to maintain their vitality.
Exhibition industry is changing shape. In this sector, as in other ones, the acquisitions, transfers of name rights have started to be at agenda. Quality fairs are organized with different presentations, more professional management, different perspectives, experienced teams.”.
