The leather and fur garment industry, which has achieved $224 million of exports since the beginning of the year, is preparing to compensate for the loss in the Russian market with the USA.
The 11th Leather & Fur Fashion Fair held in Antalya hosted 70 companies from Turkiye and 1200 buyers from 20 countries.
Gurkan Gozmen, Member of the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters Association, who attended the fair, told the AA correspondent that leather and fur apparel achieved an export of $224 million in 11 months and that this fair, which is held twice a year, contributed approximately $100 million to exports.
Stating that the fair, where Turkish companies exhibited their own creations, was aimed entirely at foreign buyers, Gozmen noted that they helped local companies and foreign customers meet.
Stating that there has been a stagnation in the exports of the sector compared to previous years, Gozmen explained that China entered the world market with very competitive prices and this situation affected Turkish producers.
Emphasizing that Turkish products are of higher quality than Chinese, Gozmen said, “We think that this stagnation will continue until the second period of 2024, and we will be able to establish balance again after the second period.”
Aiming to close the gap in the Russian market with the US market
Stating that their biggest market is Russia, but there were significant losses in this market due to the war, Gozmen said:
“Nearly 20% of the leather products going to Russia are Turkish products. Although we are very strong in this market, there was a 51% decrease due to the effects of the war. We see the USA as the largest market that can replace Russia because we are strong in this market. If we can increase our share here from 12% to 30%, we will compensate for the contractions in all countries.”
Stating that they, as a union, are working seriously to increase exports in markets where they are less strong, in cooperation with the association, Gozmen stated that they are trying to improve trade by sending delegations to alternative markets.
Gozmen noted that they made commercial visits to the USA and South Korea and that they will continue these visits next year.
Stating that they can sell to many different countries as a sector, Gozmen continued his words as follows:
“We export leather and fur garments to nearly 50 countries. We can also sell products to warm countries such as Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. This shows how advanced we are in R&D and the tannery industry, and that we can sell products to every climate. The fact that our garment manufacturers follow the trends very well brings this success.”
“We will continue to be the lifeblood of the industry”
Fatih Dursun, President of the Turkish Leather Garment Manufacturers Association, said that they will continue to organize the Leather & Fur Fashion Fair in order to be a lifeline for the sector.
Reminding that they held the fair by complying with the necessary conditions even during the Covid-19 epidemic, Dursun stated that participation in the fair increased every year and this made the industry happy.
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz