One in every three shoes in Turkiye is produced by companies in Gaziantep and sent to domestic and foreign markets.
Gaziantep Shoemakers Chamber President Mehmet Emin Ince said that the city has become the center of shoe production in recent years.
Stating that important studies are being carried out for shoe production in the city, Ince said, “Gaziantep is the largest production center in terms of shoes after Istanbul. The shoe industry in our city is a large sector that includes 33 different sectors with 1200 shoes, 400 slippers, 200 sub-industry manufacturers and 80 thousand employees.”
Turkiye’s 2nd largest shoe manufacturer
Ince stated that they attach importance to education for the development of the sector, opening shoe-related educational institutions and organizing various educational events.
Explaining that shoe manufacturers in the city focus on exports, Ince said:
“We aim to make our industry competitive with rival countries in the world in the coming years. We are successfully taking firm steps forward in this regard. Turkiye’s shoe exports reached $1 billion 100 million in 11 months, despite the negativities. In Gaziantep, exports amounted to $150 million. Gaziantep’s shoe exports have been increasing in the last 3 years. It is gaining a good place for itself in the world market. Currently, our city is Turkiye’s 2nd largest manufacturer and exporter. We send most of the products we produce to Istanbul, and since we send them through intermediary institutions, they are not reflected in our actual export data. Approximately 35% of the 585 million pairs of shoes produced in Turkiye in the 11 months of this year were made in Gaziantep.”
Ince added that exports will increase significantly by green transformation-oriented production with the OIZ where shoes and slippers will be produced in the city.
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz