Zeytinburnu Textile Industrialists Businessmen Association (ZETSIAD) Chairman of the Board of Directors Mustafa Sartik stated that 4 thousand enterprises operating in the textile sector and employing 40 thousand people in the district are expected to export $2.1 billion this year.
Stating that Zeytinburnu is rapidly advancing towards becoming a textile center and is starting to make its name known abroad with each passing day, Sartik said that companies with large production factories in Tekirdag, Kahramanmaras, Malatya, Gaziantep and similar places have branches in Zeytinburnu for sales and marketing.
Stating that knitted fabric manufacturers generally operate in Zeytinburnu, Sartik said, “The ready-made clothing manufacturers connected to knitted fabric have made this place a base. From children’s clothing to women’s pajamas, from underwear to nightgowns and tracksuits, almost everything about knitted fabric and ready-made clothing can be found in our district, and all apparel products can be accessed.”
Stating that there are nearly 40 thousand employees in 4 thousand enterprises located in Zeytinburnu, Sartik said, “We are a very important stakeholder in the textile and ready-made clothing industry. There are serious activities in the leather industry in our district. Due to these two sectors, the number of employees and customers coming to Zeytinburnu from outside the district every day reaches 200 thousand from time to time.”
“NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IS EXPECTED TO REACH 50 THOUSANDS
Mustafa Sartik explained that the textile activity in Zeytinburnu dates back to ancient times, and that fabric production started in 1985 and ready-made clothing production began in the 1990s.
Stating that 70% of knitted fabric products such as pajamas, underwear and tracksuits produced in Turkey are marketed across the country and abroad from Zeytinburnu, Sartik said that there is a high demand for opening new workplaces and stores in the district, and that the number of employees is expected to reach 50 thousand.
Sartik noted that from time to time there is no place for the opening of new businesses, and they continue to work on this issue.
“INCREASE IN EXPORTS WILL BE AT 10% COMPARED TO 2020”
ZETSIAD Chairman of the Board Sartik said that the companies in the district are expected to export $2.1 billion of ready-made clothing and fabrics this year, and that the increase in exports will be around 10% compared to 2020.
Stating that after the epidemic, Turkish manufacturers adapted very quickly to the new period and broke records in exports, Sartik said that they saw this clearly in their own companies, and that they increased production and employment in parallel with the demand in the last year.
Sartik stated that they exported the most to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Algeria, Italy, Greece, France and Spain in fabric, while European countries such as Germany, England and France, as well as the Gulf and Middle East geography came to the fore in ready-made clothing.
Stating that they faced logistics and high tax problems in sales to other countries, but these problems were overcome with luggage trade, Sartik said that there was a very serious luggage trade from the district to abroad.
“TOGETHER FABRIC AND READY-TO-WEAR BRINGS OUR REGION TO THE FOREIGHT”
Mustafa Sartik said that both the fabric and ready-made clothing sectors operate together in the district, and that both the product and the raw material are located in the same region.
Stating that this feature brings the district to the forefront in terms of customers, Sartik said, “Because the customer comes, they like the fabric and they can make any ready-made clothing product they want. Zeytinburnu has started to be known worldwide in textile and ready-made clothing. For example, Laleli is known, but the district of Fatih is not known, Merter is known, Gungoren is not known, but Zeytinburnu is known as a center for textiles and ready-made clothing. Everyone knows Zeytinburnu from the USA to Algeria, from Tunisia to Jordan, from Russia to Morocco.”
“$100 BILLION OF EXPORT IN TEXTILE CAN BE MADE WITH STRENGTH AND ONE VOICE”
ZETSIAD Chairman of the Board Sartik stated that he had some problems while progressing to become a textile center integrated with the world, “First of all, our request is to increase traffic controls. There is a serious traffic jam. Traffic problems can be solved with an effective control. The number of parking lots should be increased.”
Stating that the number of hotels in the district is not at the desired level and that new hotels should be built, Sartik made the following evaluations:
“In order for Turkey to use its power in textile more effectively and become a global power, there should be a general manager or deputy minister who is only interested in this issue. We have to be the only voice in textile. Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) has regional units related to textiles. There are also many sectoral associations. Everyone is working on their own. Textile fairs are held in different cities on the same day. It is very difficult for us to move forward in this way. It should be monophonic. We should organize a world-famous textile fair. We can see very good examples of this in Europe. We can increase our exports from $20 billion o $100 billion with monophony, unity of power and an effective promotion-marketing work in textile.”
Sartik said that a scientific committee should be established, targets should be determined and strict rules should be set in textiles with current account surplus.
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz