Turkey: Textile exporters say tax measures will help overtake rivals in EU

01/01/2012 12:00 - 388 Views

Turkey is poised to experience an even higher increase in textile and ready-to-wear exports to the country’s largest exports market, the EU, as the positive impacts of an earlier introduced hike in customs tax on imports to protect domestic manufacturers have started to pay off, representatives of the Turkish textile exporters told Today’s Zaman Wednesday in Istanbul.

Turkey’s government decided at the beginning of 2011 to impose anti-dumping duties on garment and fabric imports from a number of countries, including such major providers as Pakistan and Bangladesh, suggesting that these products are so cheap that they pose a threat to Turkish producers.

This decision has ignited discussions in the sector with one group supporting the government’s decision, saying it could boost employment and boost exports. A second group; however, protested the government’s move, arguing it would increase prices as well as undermine Turkey’s competitive power in global markets. The members of a platform who supported the tax measure, named “Turkey’s Production, Turkey’s Exports Platform,” met the press on Wednesday in Istanbul to argue how dumping tax application has benefited the sector.

According to Wednesday’s data, Turkey’s textile exports to its largest exports market, the EU, have increased by 5.6 percent in October of this year compared to the same month in 2010 while exports to the EU from Turkey’s three major rivals (in the EU) China, Bangladesh and India declined by 23, 26 and 13 percent respectively during the given period. Separately, the number of newly opened businesses in the sector increased by an average 6 percent while employment in the sector jumped 7 percent in the same period.

“This is a unique increase experienced only by Turkey … and the major factor behind this was the measures protecting our local producers, exporters,” Abdulkadir Konukoglu, the CEO of Sanko Holding and the head of the platform told reporters. He added that the increase in exports to the EU in October was particularly important considering a 15.7 percent stagnation experienced in the EU’s textile markets in the given period. “Turkey can easily surpass China in terms of fast-fashion deliveries to the EU because of its geographical proximity and improved skill in creating fashion designs,” Bülent Baser, member of the board at the Turkish Textile Employers’ Association told Today’s Zaman.

Baser said the sector is expected to register a foreign trade surplus of $200 billion between 2012 and 2023. He said the total size of new investments in the sector neared $3 billion in 2011, while employment jumped by 10 percent.

By Ergin Hava

Source: todayszaman.com