The robust growth of 8.8 percent in Turkish garment exports during the first 10 months of 2022 has ensured that garment workers remained engaged unlike leading textile economies like Vietnam where 63000 workers were laid off.
It is a tribute to Turkey’s apparel sector’s resilience that brushed aside global recession to keep its growth momentum high. According to the data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, garment exports from the country increased to $16.378 during January-October 2022 compared with exports of $15.102 billion during the corresponding period of 2021. This translates into a growth of 8.44 percent.
Meanwhile, given the recession in Europe, the Turkish exporters explored the Middle East market increasing the apparel exports to the region by more than 10 percent in the first half of this year (H1) to $0.80 billion from January to June 2022, and $0.73 billion during July to December 2021.
Out of $16.378 billion in exports, the share of knitted and crocheted clothing and accessories reached $9.250 billion in January-October 2022. This translates into an increase of 4.6 percent over the exports of $8.843 billion clocked during the same months of the previous year.
Besides, a more robust growth of 13.9 percent was witnessed in the exports of non-knitted apparel and accessories which jumped to $7.128 billion, compared to $6.259 billion in exports in January-October 2021. The Turkish textile industry was hit by high cotton and yarn prices resulting in an increase of 51 percent in its import bill which shot up to $4.266 billion from $ 2.825 in October-January 2021.
