Apparel Exporters Target $1.35 Billion in Exports

Ready-made apparel exporters closed 2023 with a 9 percent decline compared to the previous year, both nationally and for EHKİB specifically, due to stagnation in Europe—their main export market—uncertainty created by the Russia-Ukraine war, domestic access-to-finance difficulties, and increases in labor and energy costs. Ege Hazırgiyim and Konfeksiyon İhracatçıları Birliği Chairman Burak Sertbaş, Vice Chairman Seray Seyfeli and Vice Chairman Çağlar Bağcı presented their 2023 assessment, 2024 agenda and targets for the coming period at a press conference.

A difficult year for our sector

Ege Hazırgiyim and Konfeksiyon İhracatçıları Birliği Chairman Burak Sertbaş stated, "In 2023, the ready-made apparel sector in Turkey achieved exports worth USD 19.2 billion. EHKİB's 2023 exports totaled USD 1 billion 340 million. We closed 2023 with a 9 percent decline compared to the previous year, both nationally and for EHKİB specifically. 2023 was a difficult year for our sector. Stagnation in Europe, our main export market, uncertainty created by the Russia-Ukraine war, domestic access-to-finance difficulties, and increases in labor and energy costs put us under pressure. Due to cost increases, we remained expensive compared to our competitors, and customers began to leave. Finding new customers to replace those lost is not easy. Raising the minimum wage support paid to employers to TRY 1,400 would provide positive contributions to employment and production."

Chairman Sertbaş, noting that problems continuing from 2023 are carrying into the new year, continued his remarks as follows:

"The fact that high inflation has not yet been brought under control and that there is no increase in external demand indicates that 2024 will not be an easy year either. In the EU, our main market which accounts for 60 percent of our exports, demand shortages continue due to the recession effect. Low demand also has a negative impact on production. Our capacity utilization rate has fallen from the 84 percent level to 76.4 percent. Additionally, the decision to impose a 10 percent additional customs duty on imports of yarn, fabric and ready-made apparel products in October 2023 made the situation even more difficult for us ready-made apparel exporters. We anticipate that these difficulties will have a negative impact on our business in the first half of 2024 as well."

We are targeting USD 1 billion 350 million in exports

Burak Sertbaş noted that should business conditions in the sector improve, they expect a recovery in the final quarter of the year. "As the Ready-made Apparel and Confection Sector Board, we have set our year-end export target at USD 20 billion. The general economic climate and insufficient external demand are unfortunately reflected in our export figures. January 2024 figures have been announced and unfortunately the decline in our exports continues. Our rate of decline is higher in Turkey overall compared to our region. When we compare January to the same month last year, our exports in Turkey overall fell 12 percent to USD 1.4 billion, while EHKİB exports fell 2 percent to USD 113 million. In 2024, we will work to match the previous year. We are targeting USD 1 billion 350 million in exports this year. Our exports are not performing well at the moment, but on the other hand we are among Turkey's highest-value-added exporting sectors. Our export unit price per kilogram is well above Turkey's average. Our export unit price per kilogram: Turkey overall export price USD 15/kg, EHKİB export price: USD 21/kg."