Turkey's clothing exports reached nearly $18 billion in 2018, the president of the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers' Association (TGSD) said yesterday.

"We predict that our clothing exports will reach $19 billion in 2019," TGSD President Hadi Karasu stressed in a meeting in Istanbul, as quoted in a press release issued by the TGSD. The clothing sector has strategic importance for the country's economy with its production power, contribution to the employment, and value-added exports, he said.

He further explaianed that Turkey was also a global player in the clothing and textile sector, adding, "Turkey is the fifth largest clothing supplier in the world, we took a 3.3 percent share from the $515 billion global clothing market in 2017." Karasu said Turkey has the potential to raise its exports by 10 times. Meanwhile, the country's domestic clothing market reached TL 165 billion ($31.21 billion) in the current year, he added. The market's size rose by 20 peracent from the previous year, Karasu also noted, saying, "The difference stemmed largely from the increase in prices, while the real rise is around 2-3 percent," he noted.