Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Zeki Kıvanç, TOBB Board Member Responsible for the Council, started his opening speech by praying for the grace of Allah upon our citizens who lost their lives as a result of the earthquake and urgent recovery to the injured. He informed that the members of the Council about the activities carried out by our Union in the earthquake region. Mr. Kıvanç, who gave information about the “Lend a Hand, Let’s Build a House” housing campaign initiated by TOBB, shared the details of the campaign with the sector council members and stated that they expect their contributions to the campaign.

In his opening speech, Council President Adil Sani Konukoğlu expressed his sorrow over the earthquake disaster and expressed his condolences for the victims and a speedy recovery to the injured. He emphasized the necessity of acting in unity and solidarity to eliminate the problems experienced in the earthquake region.

With the presentation made at the Council meeting, the data of the sector for 2022 were evaluated in all aspects. In 2022, the most textile and raw materials exports were made to EU (27) countries, and export figures decreased by 5% compared to 2021 and amounted to $ 12.9 billion. In 2022, Italy was the most important export market, followed by Germany and the USA. It was noted that in the total textile-garment-apparel sectors, exports decreased by 4.28% in quantity compared to 2021, while imports increased by 43.58%. Noting that the increasing imports are to the disadvantage of the sector, the council members stated that the sector should be observed.

While the members of the Council stated that there was a decline in capacity utilization rates, it was stated that according to the capacity utilization report in 2022, the average capacity utilization rate of the manufacturing industry for the last 12 months was 77.2%, while the capacity utilization rate in the manufacture of textile products decreased by 11.5% compared to December 2021.

Evaluating the current problems faced by the sector, the members of the council stated that they are experiencing difficult times in the face of decreasing orders, increasing costs, falling sales prices and disappearing profits.