In the first six months of 2019, Turkey’s textile and raw material exports dropped by 5.8 per cent. Textile exports to Italy decreased 7.5 per cent compared to the same period previous year. Exports to Germany were down 3.8 per cent. On the whole, exports to the 28 EU countries fell 9.2 per cent. Italy is Turkey’s largest importer followed by Germany.

From January to June, Turkey’s exports of cotton woven fabrics decreased 11.2 per cent. Yarn was the second most important product group in this period with a share of 18.6 per cent. Yarns from synthetic manmade filament fibers had a share of 42.3 per cent in total yarn exports. Knitted fabric exports fell 1.9 per cent. Export of knitted fabrics containing elastometric and rubber yarn decreased by 8.3 per cent. In the first half of the year, fiber exports rose by 6.8 per cent. Synthetic manmade fibers accounted for 62 per cent of total fiber exports. Export of these fibers increased by 10.8 per cent.

The country’s garment exports decreased one per cent. The sector’s share in Turkey’s total exports is 9.9 per cent. In the first half of the year, the top three countries with the highest exports were Germany, Spain and the UK.