2025 became a true resilience test for the sector How did 2025 unfold for the textile and apparel sector? What were the most common issues and expectations voiced by your members?
“The past year seriously challenged our sector due to economic fluctuations experienced both globally and in Türkiye, high inflation, and cost pressures created by exchange rate policies. For the Turkish textile and
apparel industry, 2025 almost became a year of ‘stress testing.’ Sluggish global demand and the economic slowdown in Europe, our main market, put pressure on our export figures. One of the biggest challenges facing our sector today is losing competitiveness in global markets due to rising costs. The widening gap between inflation and exchange rates erodes exporters’ profitability and weakens our price competitiveness.
This situation makes it particularly difficult for us to compete with Asian and Egyptian producers in the European market. The tendency of European brands to turn to alternative suppliers stands out as one of the most critical risks for the period ahead. Despite these challenges, thanks to the great efforts of our exporters, UTİB reached exports of USD 1 billion 272 million 280 thousand last year, and USD 1 billion 117 million 183 thousand in the first 11 months of 2025. This picture clearly shows that, despite all difficulties, the Turkish textile industry continues to preserve its production strength and resilience.
• Most frequent complaints from our members: Inability to maintain competitive pricing due to rising energy
and labor costs, unfair competition from the Far East, and shrinking profit margins.
• Expectations: Members most strongly demanded a reduction in high financing costs and increased supp
ort for green transformation in order to maintain the quality of Turkish textiles. Another major uncertainty is the European Union’s yet-unclear roadmap regarding the establishment of a new production hub in the MENA region. Should such a step be taken, the risk of Türkiye’s strategic role in the European textile supply chain weakening remains significant. Therefore, today it is not enough to merely defend our current position; we must urgently implement long-term policies that will strengthen our trade ties with Europe.”
Staying in the global league requires more than production Which structural reforms are needed to strengthen the sector’s global competitiveness? What kind of arrangements should be made regarding export incentives, Eximbank loans, and KGF supports?
“In order for our sector to remain in the upper ranks of the global league, it is no longer sufficient to
be merely a ‘production hub’; we must become a ‘design and technology hub.’
• Structural reforms: Ensuring raw material security, protecting domestic production, and accelerating digital customs applications are essential.
• Financial supports: Eximbank loans should be made more flexible not only in terms of volume but also maturity and collateral requirements. KGF supports should be expanded— particularly for SME-scale exporters—as a real ‘lifeline’ for technological transformation, tied to value-added production.” The exchange rate–interest–finance balance is the sector’s most fragile point How do cost structures, exchange rate policies, and access to finance affect the sector? “At present, this three-way balance represents the most sensitive pressure point for our sector.
• Exchange rate policy: Exchange rates that do not move in parallel with inflation weaken exporters’ competitiveness. For us, predictability is even more critical than the absolute level of the exchange rate.
• Access to finance: High interest rates have brought investments to a near standstill. Difficulties in accessing finance cause us to postpone sustainability investments (such as solar energy systems and recycling), which in the long term puts our share in the EU market at risk.”
The goal: becoming the world’s most reliable and green supplier Where do you see Türkiye’s textile and apparel sector in the coming years?
“Türkiye is moving toward becoming the world’s ‘most reliable and green’ supplier in textiles and apparel. In the coming years, I see us not as a country producing standard combed cotton fabrics, but as a leader shaping the fashion world with smart textiles, technical textiles, and recycled materials. The ‘Made in Türkiye’ label will become the strongest symbol of sustainability and quality.”
The message for 2026: Producing is not enough—making a difference is essential What is the most important message you would like to convey to your members and sector stakeholders for 2026?
“Our primary expectation for 2026 is the rapid implementation of policies that will strengthen the competitiveness of our producers. Aligning exchange rate policies with inflation, regulating energy and labor costs in a way that supports producers, and facilitating access to affordable financing for our SMEs are all of vital importance for our sector. In today’s environment of intensifying global competition, textile companies are developing strategies to differentiate and stand out by placing sustainability, digital transformation, R&D, and innovation at the core.
Bursa, with its deep-rooted textile tradition and strong infrastructure, plays an important role in this transformation. Our textile companies continue to invest in sustainable production processes to comply with the European Green Deal and minimize environmental impacts. Technologies such as digital printing systems, which consume less water and electricity compared to traditional methods, are being adopted. Wastewater recycling systems and energy-efficient machinery are becoming more widespread. Sustainable fabrics and eco-designs are being developed. Roadmaps for carbon footprint measurement, reporting, and reduction are being created. Efforts continue in the areas of clean production methods and digital applications for sustainability. We know that digitalization across all processes—from production to design— is one of the key elements that will enhance the competitiveness of textile companies, and we have long been supporting projects and initiatives in this field. Robotic automation and data analytics systems are being used in production processes to improve efficiency and quality. In some companies, digital systems providing real-time traceability enable optimized production planning.
We foresee the growing use of artificial intelligence in areas such as AIsupported defect detection in fabric and yarn quality control, predictive analytics, demand forecasting, and inventory management. Our work in circular economy, digitalization, and sustainability— issues that are now at the center of the global agenda—continues without slowing down. Investments in these areas will increase the value added of Turkish textiles and prepare our sector for the future. As we enter 2026, my message to our members is this: Producing alone is not enough—we must make a difference. In the new era, we must fully integrate productivity-oriented production, digitalization, and the circular economy model into our business processes. By acting together, we can turn changes in the global supply chain into opportunities. There is no room for pessimism; textiles are in the DNA of these lands.”
