Turkey is the world's 7th top clothing supplier and 14th top textile commodity supplier.
 
Turkey ranks 2nd among the countries supplying apparel to the EU. With a share of 3.8% Turkey ranks 6th among the apparel manufacturing countries in the world.

Other consumer products, i.e. household items, leather goods and glassware, are also produced and exported to a large extent. Recently, agricultural products are being processed and packed for consumer use and are being exported in growing quantities.
 
Turkey's geographical proximity to the EU market is an extreme value by itself. Deliveries from Turkey can easily be arranged by land, air or sea - with 48 hours to 3 weeks maximum of transportation time. The major ports and textile industry areas are marked on the map below.





TURKEY is a resourceful market to buy from, due to its:

•    abundance of raw materials
•    huge potential of skilled and unskilled work force
•    officially supported industrial growth
•    highly developed technical know-how and abilities
•    traditionally adopted behavior of flexibility
•    willingness to improve
•    experience and knowledge of export markets
•    ability to provide quick response
•    facilitated supply chain management systems
•    service minded operations

 
The Turkish industries producing for the export markets has been well recognized for their:

•    short lead time and quick delivery terms
•    quality standardization
•    flexibility and cooperation
•    reliability in international transactions
•    awareness of the value of "design input" and creative capability

Highlights of the historical development of Turkey's exports are as follows:

1970    investments in yarn spinning and weaving
1980    successful development in circular knit and ready-to-wear industries
1995    customs union with the European Union
1996    investment of approx. $2,3 billion in textile machinery
2003    investments in and awareness of "design"


Since 1970 Turkey has invested $150 billion in the textile and ready-to-wear sectors which today are among the leading industries in Turkey's total exports (see table below).

Turkish Exports, 1980-2005 ($ Million)
Year	Total	Clothing	% of Total	Textile	% of  Total
1980	2,910	106	3.6%	671	23.1%
1985	7,958	936	11.8%	1,151	14.5%
1990	12,959	2,898	22.4%	1,424	11.0%
1995	21,637	6,334	29.3%	2,352	10.9%
2000	27,775	7,150	25.7%	2,819	10.1%
2005	73,122	13,415	18.3%	5,467	7.5%
Source: Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade

The textile and clothing industry accounts for 10.6% of the Turkish Gross Domestic Product and 18.7% of the Total Industrial Production.