Attending the Istanbul Ready-to-Wear and Fashion Fair (Istanbul Fashion Connection-IFCO), Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said Wednesday that Türkiye ranks seventh among all countries in the world and third in Europe in terms of ready-to-wear exports.
"With an export of $20.6 billion (TL 630.35 billion) in ready-to-wear clothing and $12.3 billion in textiles exports, we achieved exports exceeding $30 billion last year," he said during the event.
Organized by the Istanbul Apparel Exporters' Association (IHKIB) in collaboration with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) and with the support of the Ministry of Trade, the IFCO opened its doors Wednesday and is set to continue through Saturday.
Speaking at the opening of the event held in Istanbul Expo Center, the largest ready-to-wear clothing fair in Europe, the minister touched on the anniversary of last year's devastating earthquakes, expressing that the power of the society was seen once again with the solidarity displayed as a state and nation in the region impacted by the tremors.
Highlighting it was the fifth edition of the fair, Bolat pointed out that Istanbul emerged as a "fashion center," while Türkiye has become a production, supply, logistics, trade, energy and fair center.
He further recalled that the Turkish economy expanded by 4% in the first nine months of last year, and increased its national income to $1.07 trillion, underscoring the significance of exports to this end.
"Last year, despite the decline in world exports and imports, as Türkiye, we reached $256 billion (in exports) with an increase of 0.64%. This was marked as a record in the history of the republic. We express our gratitude to the exporter family who achieved this," he said.
The minister emphasized that Türkiye's garment sector accounts for approximately 13%-14% of the nation's total exports. He highlighted advantages such as proximity to target markets, a diverse product range with original designs, being a prominent cotton producer, and the ability to swiftly deliver products, all contributing to this success.
Reminding that they aim to export $267 billion of goods and $110 billion of services for this year, Bolat stated that the ready-to-wear apparel and textile sectors would also contribute to the export target with increasing orders as of the second half of the year.
Furthermore, he stated that the import of key countries within the European Union has dropped by approximately 15%, but that Türkiye managed to boost its exports to its top trading partner.
"Despite the global downturn in exports and imports, our share of global merchandise exports has risen from 1.02% to 1.06%. We aim to reach 1.30% by 2028," he said.
