The Turkish textile and raw materials sector, which is the seventh largest supplier of the world and the second largest supplier of the European Union, has increased its target for 2019 by completing last year with 10.5 billion dollar of exports.
Noting that they want to reach a double-digit growth in 2019, Mr. Ahmet Öksüz, President of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB), said that they will give a special importance to South America, Far East Asia and Africa as well as traditional markets in order to increase our market share in the world and to be among the top five suppliers in the world. Öksüz stated that they have created a business guaranteed scholarship system for students who prefer to study textile engineering in order to increase interest in textile sector.
Ahmet Öksüz, the President of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB), who evaluated the developments in the sector in 2018 and explained the targets in the new year, said that the Turkish textile and raw materials sector is the biggest supplier of the EU after China. Öksüz said that they completed last year with an export increase of 4 percent and 10.5 billion dollars, and stated that 2018 was an important year especially in terms of entering new markets.
Öksüz underlined that they do not neglect the potential markets nor the existing markets. Öksüz said “We made our most exports to the European Union countries with $ 5.4 billion. In terms of countries, our exports to Germany and Italy were 870 million dollars in this period. We increased exports in 15 of our top 20 export markets. Last year, exports to Russia was raised by 107.3%, to Belarus by 42.5% and to Portugal by 26.3%. We were able to increase our exports by 71%.
The greatest record in exports to Africa, America and Asia in the history of Turkish Republic
Öksüz emphasized that the African market was very active in the past year just like traditional markets. He said “We have exceeded 1 billion dollars in exports to the African market by 13.5% and we broke the record of our Republican history. and we want to further develop our bilateral relations in 2019 with our hope that the economy will rise. Öksüz, who said that they aim to reach a 10 percent of increase in the number of exports as textile and raw materials sector in 2019, also stated that they will exceed $11 billion in the first stage. Öksüz acknowledged that they want to continue the acceleration in Africa and America while preserving the exports to the EU and said that they see South America and Far East Asia as their target markets. Öksüz said:”Our exports to the American continent increased by 6 percent to $ 794 million last year, but more than $ 600 million of these exports are made in the USA. In addition to the importance we place in exports to the US, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Colombia are the markets in which we realize sustainable export potential. At the same time, our exports of textile and raw materials to Asia and Oceania in 2018 increased by 25.1 percent and reached the highest export value of all times with $ 677 million. In the coming period, we aim to implement projects for Japan and South Korea markets.
We want to protect textile and apparel sectors in free trade agreements
Öksüz ,who stated that the Free Trade Agreement planned by the Ministry of Commerce for Japan will be a very important opportunity for export to Japan, says “We give great importance to the Free Trade Agreement, which the Ministry of Commerce aims to achieve with Japan. The removal of the tax walls of Japan by the possible STA for our sector will be an important opportunity for the export that our sector can realize in Japan. Japan is the world’s 8th largest importer of textiles and raw materials. Turkey exports to Japan high value-added textiles and raw materials but applied tax rates of textiles and raw materials are up to 15 per cent in Japan. 51 percent of our textile and raw materials export to the Customs Union and 14 percent of our exports are to the countries that we have a STA with. Furthermore, we export 65 percent of our textile and raw materials to the countries that we have a trade agreement with .
Protection demand for yarn imports
Öksüz stated that the imports of cotton and man-made synthetic staple fibers have increased and although the yarn production capacity is quite high in our country, the import of cotton and man-made synthetic yarn is increasing, the factories are closing and unemployment has not decreased. He also said “ In 2017, cotton yarn imports increased by 21.4 percent and reached 216 thousand tons, while artificial synthetic staple fibers increased by 11.4 percent and reached 209 thousand tons. Almost every product has an additional tax but no cotton thread. Yarns of cotton and artificial synthetic staple fibers come in very cheap prices from countries such as Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. We expect an additional tax on these products by the end of the month. An additional tax of around 15-20% can be imposed.”He acknowledged that, in this way, we can reduce the import of relevant yarns by halving the domestic production.
New generation trade delegations
Öksüz underlined the fact that the Union will concentrate on trade delegation organizations and supporting the promotion of International Competitiveness (Ur-Ge) cluster projects in 2019. He said “the organization will also have trade delegation organizations that we will call “the next generation trade delegation”which will be noticed by global brands. We are aiming to organize all the global brands that we can reach on a location determined by our trade committees and to organize trade mission organizations.”
Scholarship and Guaranteed work opportunities for those who will study Textile
Öksüz underlined that the sector is the fourth sector that produces the most production in the manufacturing industry and that it creates an employment of 2 million people together with the ready wear industry.Öksüz told that until recently, the required score to study at the Faculty of Medicine was competing with the scores of the Textile Engineering departments, however Textile Engineering departments have been unable to fill the quota. He talked about the solution for this and said; “Our industry has difficulty in reaching the qualified workforce it needs. The occupancy rates of the Textile Engineering departments, which have an 86 percent occupancy rate in 2017, dropped to 42 percent this year. Only 228 students preferred the textile engineering department in 2018-2019 period.
However, we need 400-500 students every year. To avoid the negative perceptions created in our sector and in order to resolve our need for trained manpower, Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Association and Turkey Textile Employers have come to an agreement with the trade unions and Higher Education cooperation. In this context, we have created a road map for the work guaranteed scholarship system for students who prefer textile engineering and submitted it to the approval of the Ministry. We want to guarantee scholarships and work for the first 100 thousand students. As soon as we receive the approval of the Ministry, we will start the program with a scholarship amount equal to the minimum wage. ”
Hemp cultivation increases our competitiveness in raw material diversity
Öksüz, who talked about Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent remark about the resumption of hemp cultivation. He said that it can create a new field for our industry. According to Öksüz, hemp is used in textile as it is the raw material of flax. The pre-production work of the non-fiber flax in Turkey can open a new way for flax fiber,which is not produced in Turkey, and it can provide a significant benefit to our industry”.