Faced with the loss of their traditional export markets because of political and security problems in their neighborhood, Turkish textile companies are looking to penetrate new markets to sustain their export growth. Turkey is surrounded by a violent neighborhood: a war-ravaged Syria, an unstable Iraq and sanctions-plagued Russia. One advantage Turkey had over China is its proximity to Europe -- knowing and understanding Europe's needs. But now Turkish exporters are forced to look for markets beyond their borders in Southeast Asia.

Garment makers are looking at Malaysia, Japan, the ASEAN region and Canada. Malaysia is seen as an especially attractive market because of its stability unlike China which is passing through turbulent economic times. Turkish companies expect Malaysia, along with Singapore and Indonesia, to grow in the future. They want to actively increase their contacts with the Malaysian textile sector.

Turkey is Europe's largest textile manufacturer and the fourth largest clothing manufacturer in the world. Many major textile brands such as Esprit, H&M, Hugo Boss, s.Oliver, Adidas, Nike and Zara source their clothing from Turkey. Turkey's total global textile exports in 2015 amounted to $14 billion, of which home textiles accounted for three billion dollars. Turkey's home-textile exports in 2014 amounted to $3.3 billion.