Ahmet Öksüz, Chairman of the Board of the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB), emphasized in his speech at the 2025 Successful Exporters Award Ceremony that the global slowdown, logistics challenges, and disruptions in supply chains have once again highlighted the importance of domestic production. Pointing out that protecting the sector against unfair competition has now become critical, he stated that protecting the textile industry—one of Türkiye’s key industrial backbones—is not a choice but a necessity.
Öksüz noted that despite the contraction in the European Union, the sector’s largest export market, they are striving to maintain market share, while also achieving significant momentum in the United States, the second-largest export market. He continued: “With exports approaching 800 million dollars in 2025, we are now the eighth-largest supplier to the U.S. Over the past five years, we have increased our market share from 1.6% to 3.2%. Our goal is to rank among the top five suppliers to the U.S. We firmly believe that, with the expected downward trend in global interest rates, we will achieve this target in the coming period.”
Öksüz also stated that the implementation of additional tariffs by the U.S. and the European Union’s new trade agreements—affecting Türkiye as a key export market—have turned countries like Türkiye into target markets for Asia. “For this reason, it is of great importance to take measures affecting domestic production, such as collecting witness samples to prevent abuses within the inward processing regime and more effectively combating origin fraud, an issue our Ministry is already working on meticulously. It should not be forgotten that Türkiye cannot afford to give up a sector that has been built through investments worth billions of dollars and serves as the country’s industrial memory,” he said.
Governor Gül: “Without stability, needs cannot be met in the medium term”
Speaking at the ceremony, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül stated: “The world and recent developments have shown us this: there were places where products could be sourced at slightly lower costs; however, without stability, it has become clear that needs cannot be met in the medium term. Thanks to Türkiye’s climate of peace and the uninterrupted continuation of its production chain, you instill confidence in your customers. Hopefully, with the restoration of global stability and the preservation of Türkiye’s peaceful environment, exporters will reach their expected figures in a very short time.”
TİM Chairman Mustafa Gültepe also stated that the textile and apparel sectors continue to be one of the cornerstones of the Turkish economy—not only through export figures, but also with their production strength, employment capacity, and resilience in global competition. He added that, with their high adaptability, the textile and apparel sectors will continue to create value for Türkiye in the coming period.