By Tuba Sahin</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Already one of the world’s most prominent textile and clothing producers, Turkey this year is aiming higher to hit a sizeable rise in exports. </p> <p>According to an Anadolu Agency analysis of Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) data, textile and ready-wear sector exports rose 3.8 percent in 2018 to reach $26.1 billion.</p> <p>Ismail Gulle, TIM’s chairman, told Anadolu Agency that the figure fell short of the sector’s potential. </p> <p>"Turkey's textile and apparel sector will turn our currency advantage to an opportunity in 2019 and work through their target thanks to Turkish brands [instead of contract manufacturing]," he said.</p> <p>Gulle added that 500 shops featuring Turkish brands are set to open abroad this year. </p> <p>He said that this year the textile and apparel sector aims to boost exports by around 10 percent to some $29 billion.</p> <p>Ahmet Oksuz, head of the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (ITHIB), underlined that exporters are prioritizing getting a larger slice of the global market.</p> <p>"One of our biggest targets is to make the sector, which is currently the seventh-biggest exporter globally, one of world's top five exporters by raising its share to 5 percent of the global market," he said. </p> <p>Textile sector exports to Africa and the Americas picked up last year, along with the EU, Turkey’s main trading partner, Oksuz pointed out.</p> <p>"Our sector's exports to Africa hit an all-time high, topping last year’s target of $1 billion, up 13.5 percent year-on-year," he said.</p> <p>Calling Africa a strategic target market for the sector, Oksuz said South America and the Far East have been identified as this year’s targets. </p> <p>"We will carry out projects for the Japanese and South Korean markets," he said. </p> <p>Mustafa Gultepe, head of the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (IHKIB), said in the mid- and long-term, the ready-wear sector aims to export $33 billion in goods annually. </p> <p>"We project that clothing sector exports will grow 10 percent on a yearly basis in 2019," Gultepe said. </p> <p>Ready-wear exporters will focus on the U.S. market along with their biggest market, the EU, he said.</p> <p>"Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa are also among our target markets," he added.</p> <p>Gultepe said Turkey can do quick product turnaround thanks to its integrated facilities, strong design infrastructure, experience, know-how, and qualified labor force. </p> <p>"Turkey has a great advantage for the European market in terms of its geographical location," he said.</p> <p>In 2018 the textile and raw materials and ready-wear sectors combined constituted nearly 16 percent of Turkey's total exports. </p> <p>Turkey's exports last year hit an all-time high of $168.1 billion, up from about $157 billion in 2017, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan announced last week.
Exports in 2018 climbed 7.1 percent year-on-year, she said.
