Turkey’s textile industry foresees weaker demand in the domestic market as rising costs will push prices higher, but hopes to boost exports this year. “The overall costs of the firms operating in the textile industry have increased by 30 per cent over the past one year due to the rises in energy costs and minimum wages as well as exchange rates. Those cost increases will be reflected onto prices in the coming months,†said Ahmet Öksüz, the head of the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (ITHIB).
The expected price increases will translate into a contraction in the domestic market, according to Öksüz. “This contraction will be felt particularly in the first half of the year, but the industry will see double-digit growth in exports,†he said. Exports of the textile and raw materials industry increased by 4.5 per cent in 2018 from a year ago, hitting $10.5 billion.