The February data of Turkish textile exports were released following the earthquakes in the area where about one-third of textile production is realised. The exports of Turkish textile and raw materials were over US $ 891 million in February 2023, down 9.9 per cent from January 2023 and down 21.2 per cent from February 2022, according to a report released by the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ITHIB).
The sector’s exports made up 6.6 per cent of Turkey’s total exports during this time, while the country’s overall exports fell by 6.4 per cent to US $ 18.6 billion and its exports of industrial goods fell by 9.5 per cent to US $ 13.5 billion.
The average capacity utilisation rate for the manufacturing sector over the past 12 months was 75.2 per cent, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey’s capacity utilisation report. When compared to February of the previous year, the capacity utilisation rate for the production of textile items fell from 70.1 per cent to 70.1 per cent in February 2023.
European Union countries received the biggest exports of textiles and raw materials in the January–February 2023 period, valued at US $ 790 million, a fall of 26.3 per cent from the same period in 2022. Africa was the second-largest group of nations to which Turkey supplied textiles and raw materials during the same time period. During this time, exports to African nations fell by 19.3 per cent and totaled US $ 191 million.
Quantitatively, shipments fell by 9.7 per cent to 398 thousand tonnes in the January-February 2023 period. The quantity of shipments to EU nations fell by 19.7 per cent within the same time frame to 157 thousand tonnes. With a share of 10.7 per cent and 42.6 thousand tonnes, the Middle Eastern countries were the second-highest exporting country group during this time.
The most significant export market for raw materials and textiles from Turkey in the months of January and February of 2023 was Italy. Exports of textiles and raw materials to Italy during this time period fell by 34.5 per cent to about US $ 155 million.
When the exports of Turkey’s textile and raw material sector were examined on the basis of product categories over the same time, the woven fabric product group had the highest share of 21.2 per cent.
The second-most exported product category, technical textiles, saw a 3.6 per cent decline in exports for the same time period, bringing the total to US $ 364 million. The third-largest product category in terms of textile and raw material exports from Turkey, yarn, saw a fall of 24.2 per cent to US $ 334 million during this time.
