"Turkish textile suppliers under pressure" 22 July 2024

Challenges still loom for Turkey’s EU-bound textile industry despite hopes that its proximity to the European Union would boost sales in 2024 – after a significant export dip in 2023.

Fears around union busting, soaring inflation, health and safety issues, and recent bankruptcies are stalling efforts to improve its textile exports to Europe where new environmental and social regulations could hamper it further...

...exports to the European Union – Turkey’s biggest market – plunged 17.6% in 2023 to $4.6 billion and it was hoped that 2024 would mark an export turning point...

...Turkey still ranks among the worst countries in the International Trade Union Confederation’s annual Global Rights Index....union-related challenges still exist...

...wages and inflation are putting pressure on exporters, with soaring prices and a 70% inflation rate in June leading to workers demanding higher wages. Despite a 49% increase in the new year, workers claim the minimum wage is insufficient..

...bankruptcies and layoffs continue to plague the textile sector, at the moment. Last month, Armes Home, operating for 39 years and exporting to 34 countries, filed for bankruptcy and laid off thousands of workers. In the 12 months leading up to April 2024, the sector contracted by 2,000 firms, resulting in the loss of 200,000 jobs. Industry employees fell below 1 million for the first time since 2020.

There have also been recent issues around child labour with the death of 12-year-old Ahmet Haskiro in an Adana garment workshop in June with reports that families struggling on minimum wages reportedly resort to child labour more frequently...

This month, Health and Safety Labour Watch of Turkey (İSİG) reported 12 worker deaths in the textiles/leather sector during the first six months of 2024...

Discrimination against Syrians also resurfaced in Kayseri after a Syrian male reportedly abused a girl. The resultant attack on the community forced many Syrians to stay at home for several days. Textile production in the Kayseri Organized Industrial Zone was disrupted due to the high proportion of Syrians working in the sector (Ahmet Haskiro was a member of a Syrian refugee family)...

However, these on-going challenges demand urgent attention if Turkey wants to become the preferred textile destination for European buyers wanting a reliable and transparent sourcing partner on their doorstep.