Reminding that 2021 was a period when records were broken in textile exports, Aegean Exporters’ Associations Coordinator Chairman and Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association Chairman Jak Eskinazi said that in 2022, there was a decrease in foreign sales due to the economic stagnation in the main markets and the decrease in demand. Drawing attention to what needs to be done in such a period when demand is decreasing and competition is increasing, Eskinazi said, “The issues that will make us stand out in this period continue to be sustainability, digitalization, quality and value-added production. Consumers’ demands for sustainability will continue to increase and the demand for products produced from sustainable fibers will continue to reflect on the orders of our overseas buyers. As a union, we continue our activities in this direction.” Eskinazi stated that they want companies to be more technically competent with the UR-GE project, as the brands and customers in the main market attach special importance to sustainability, and that they aim to ensure that they are prepared for the framework conditions that will affect the dynamics of the sector in the future, especially the European Green Agreement, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. says. In this context, Eskinazi notes that 18 companies are working with the theme of sustainability in the ‘Developing Sustainable Competition in the Textile Industry’ project with the support of the Ministry of Commerce. Pointing out that Turkey has significant advantages especially in cotton, Eskinazi said, “We are in a region where sustainable cotton production such as organic cotton, better cotton and regenerative cotton is made intensively. As of the 2022/23 season, we have become the 6th largest cotton producer in the world. We are the world’s second largest producer of organic cotton in Turkey after India, and an important point is that all cotton produced in Turkey is non-GMO cotton.” It is aimed to increase exports to distant countries Informing that the only countries producing non-GMO cotton in the world are Turkey, Greece and Spain, Eskinazi states that they will focus on the international promotion of GMO Free Turkish Cotton in the next period. Saying that as ETHİB, they plan to organize a sectoral trade delegation to the USA in 2023, Eskinazi emphasizes that they aim to protect the existing export markets by investing more in exports with sustainable production and to increase their foreign sales to distant countries. Pointing out that many new tools will be used in which digitalization and sustainability will be centralized in order to reach the targets in 2023, Eskinazi said, “We need efforts to adapt and awareness of our companies other than large companies, in terms of adaptation to rapidly developing technology. In 2023, initiatives related to sustainability policies will increase in our sector, and the increasing trend in the demand for recycled and sustainable fibers will continue.”
