İHKİB and the Power of the Turkish Fashion Industry
Speaking at the opening of the fair, which is organized by the Istanbul Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association (İHKİB) and is considered the most prestigious organization of the Turkish fashion industry in the international arena, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat emphasized that Turkey’s high-quality and wide product range and flexible and fast production capacity provide a competitive advantage in the global market.
Minister Bolat stated that they are moving forward with sure steps towards their goals in investment, production, employment and exports, They closed last year with goods exports of 255.4 billion dollars, services exports of 101.2 billion dollars and reduced the foreign trade deficit from 110 billion dollars to 106 billion dollars.He also stated that Turkey’s national income reached 1 trillion 118 billion dollars and the national income per capita increased to 13 thousand 110 dollars.
“This year, indicators are progressing positively. As of the first quarter, our total national income reached 1 trillion 159 billion dollars and with a growth rate of 5.7 percent, Turkey became one of the leading countries in the world. 1.6 percent of this growth “was provided by you, our valuable exporters.”He spoke as follows.
New Records and Targets in Exports
Minister Bolat stated that exports have been on a good track this year, They set a target of 267 billion dollars in goods exports and 110 billion dollars in services exports for the end of the year, and as of July, exports in the last 12 months broke a record by reaching 261.5 billion dollars.Bolat stated that services exports have also increased to 106.5 billion dollars annually, “This means that we need to put in a little more effort and struggle to achieve our goals. As the Ministry of Trade and our government, we are always with you.”he said.
The Minister said that the export of goods in the first 7 months of the year will be higher than the same period in 2023. 4.1 percent increase to 150 billion dollars, while service exports 9 percent increase to 55 billion dollarsHe stated that the target is approaching and asked exporters to make more efforts.
Budget Opportunities and Supports
Minister of Trade Bolat noted that the Ministry will support exporters with all budget, organization and legislation to achieve export targets, and continued his words as follows:
“Our budget at the beginning of the year was 38 billion liras. We had allocated 60 percent of our budget to export support. Now, in order to increase the budget we allocated to you, we have requested an additional budget support of nearly 5 billion liras from the Presidency’s Strategy and Budget Directorate. God willing, we will receive this support and provide you with more export support. During the year, we were providing support to our exporters to participate in 5 fairs abroad a year, now we have increased this. number to 10. This support rate increases to 70 percent in target countries and 75 percent in target sectors. Therefore, we are pushing our budget possibilities to the limit for our exporters to be successful in all international fairs, including IFCO.”
Minister Bolat shared the details of the Green Deal Alignment Project Support, which was recently announced by the Ministry of Trade and will be implemented as the “Responsible® Program”, and asked exporters to benefit from this support.
Importance of Textile and Ready-Made Clothing Industry
Minister Bolat stated that they have always supported the textile and clothing sector, which is the backbone of the Turkish industry in exports, and that they have held meetings with sector representatives since the first moment he took office. “The textile and clothing industry is the apple of our eye. We will never neglect or forget it. We will support this sector to gain more strength.”He conveyed what he said.
Minister, “In this context, the textile and apparel sector, which has an export of 32.5 billion dollars, is a truly locomotive sector for Turkey. It has become famous worldwide. Turkish textile and apparel now has a worldwide reputation.”He made evaluations as follows.
IFCO and Global Demand
Minister Bolat emphasized that IFCO has now become the brand name of a fashion and ready-to-wear fair. He stated that they are the third largest supplier country in the European Union and the 7th largest supplier in textiles and apparel worldwide. He stated that these achievements were achieved through the years of efforts of exporters and the support of the government for more than 21 years.
“Therefore, our garment manufacturers, ready-made garment manufacturers and textile manufacturers should always keep their morale high. There has been a decline in import demand, especially in the EU and the US, for the last 1.5 years. However, it has become clear that the US and the EU will accelerate interest rate cuts and seek to revive their economies starting from the fall. This situation will also be reflected in global demand and hopefully new market opportunities and doors will open for our textile and garment sector. “he said.
Minister Bolat stated that more than 3,000 visitors and participants from abroad came to IFCO and that he believes that the participants will leave the event satisfied and with many orders. Bolat, who spoke about the support provided by the Ministry of Trade to IFCO, said that they provided participation, advertising and promotion support to companies, supported the bringing of purchasing delegations and supported foreign promotion expenditures.
