The leading export companies of the Turkish textile industry were awarded at a ceremony organized by Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ITHIB). The ceremony, where 564 exporters received their awards, was hosted by ITHIB Chairman Ahmet Öksüz and attended by Deputy Minister of Trade Ö. Volkan Ağar, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül and many other guests.
Despite challenging economic conditions, global contractions and increasing production costs, the textile industry ended 2024 with exports of 11.5 billion dollars. The top 10 companies that stood out with their export figures and were entitled to receive awards were announced as follows:
- AK-PA TEKSTİL İHR. PAZ. AŞ
- AKSA AKRİLİK KİMYA SAN. AŞ
- KORDSA TEKNİK TEKSTİL AŞ
- ORMO İTH. İHR. AŞ
- FPS TURKEY AMBALAJ SAN. VE TİC. AŞ
- DGS DIŞ TİC. AŞ
- KİPAŞ PAZ. VE TİC. AŞ
- ZORLU DIŞ TİC. AŞ
- TORAMAN TEKS. SAN. VE TİC. AŞ
- ZORLUTEKS TEKSTİL TİC. VE SAN. AŞ
Speaking at the ceremony, Ahmet Öksüz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ITHIB, stated that exporters made the name of Türkiye known to the world in exports under these challenging conditions and said: “Those who survive in difficult times are not only the strongest, but also those who adapt to change the fastest. Recently, we have been facing increasing global stagnation, rising costs and shrinking demand. When we look at global data, we observe that in the last three years, world textile sector exports have contracted by 34 billion dollars and apparel exports by 24 billion dollars. 2024 was also a challenging year for world trade, passing through a narrow corridor. However, we did not surrender to this outlook.”
The short-term goal of the Turkish textile industry is to enter the top five in US imports
“Despite all the global demand contractions, we did not lose our place in our most important markets, the European Union and the United States of America last year,” said Öksüz, adding that according to the latest data, while the European Union’s textile imports from the world decreased by 2.7 percent, Türkiye managed to maintain its market share. He stated that the sector not only maintained its place in the European market, but also managed to increase its market share, and made the following statement regarding the sector’s exports to the USA:
“We are the eighth largest supplier of the United States of America, which ranks second among the countries we export the most textiles to. Our textile exports to the United States exceeded 780 million dollars in 2024. In the short term, our goal is to be among the top five countries in the United States’ textile imports.”
“We want to realize the unfinished project with the USA”
Noting that the USA ranks second among the countries with the highest textile exports, Ahmet Öksüz said, “We are the 8th largest supplier of the USA. Our textile exports to the USA exceeded 780 million dollars in 2024. Our goal in the short term is to be among the top 5 countries in the textile imports of the USA. However, this picture in our export data is unfortunately not reflected in the profitability of our companies, especially in the recent period. With great sacrifices, our sector continues to export at cost and even at a loss in order not to lose its customers.”
Underlining that the USA, which is the most important target market of Türkiye, has always been a privileged working title for the textile industry, Ahmet Öksüz said, “In 2019, during the first Trump period, we held a meeting with Wilbur Ross, who was the Secretary of Commerce at the time. The 100 billion dollar foreign trade target project, in which our textile and apparel sectors are determined as strategic sectors, will be realized much faster in this new period. However, we would like this unfinished project to be realized again in the new period. We are ready to take an active role in all our responsibilities as institutions and the private sector. Our aim is to create a business model with a win-win model within the scope of the Preferential Trade Agreement, where mutual taxes will be removed in the textile and apparel sectors.”
Not only production, but smart production
Ahmet Öksüz said that they foresee that the textile sector being the leading sector in the foreign trade target of 100 billion dollars with the United States of America will be a strategic threshold in achieving the export targets and continued his words as follows: “We should not be satisfied with classical methods to reach our targets. Value-added production, investment in technical textiles, branding and sustainability-oriented transformation are the new codes of our industry. We now have to not only produce, but also produce smart and export branded products”, emphasizing the transformation of the sector.
He said that they believe that the sector needs to redefine itself in this new order where competition conditions have changed, and that another key to getting out of the crises is market diversity in exports:
“With this awareness, we organize trade delegations not only in the nearby geography but also to the farthest corners of the world and organize national participation in global exhibitions. Our aim is not only to increase exports, but also to increase the visibility and effectiveness of Turkish textiles on a global scale. In the coming period, we are determined to protect and build the strong presence of Turkish textiles in many strategic markets from China to Mexico, South Korea to Kuwait, Chile to Dubai.”
He also made statements regarding the developments in Syria and stated that the decision of the EU and the US to lift all economic sanctions against Syria is an opportunity for the textile and apparel sectors: “Making good use of Syria with the mutual benefit model will not only reduce our production costs, but will also be instrumental in the rebuilding and reconstruction of Syria. It will also be beneficial in terms of activating idle capacities in Türkiye.”
“Urgent action plans are needed on all issues affecting domestic production”
Emphasizing the need to carry out studies to protect the sector against domestic production and unfair competition, Ahmet Öksüz said, “This situation is now more important than ever. The announcement of additional customs duties by the US has made textile countries like Türkiye the target market of Asia. In this context, we need urgent action plans on all issues affecting domestic production, such as more effective fight against traffic deviation, which our ministry is already working meticulously, and the review of ‘Free Trade Agreements’.”