To compensate for the losses in textile business to Russia affected by the Moscow sanctions, exporters are now looking at new markets in Africa. Speaking to the media in Istanbul, Hikmet Tanriverdi, Head of the Istanbul Ready-Made Garment Exporters’ Association (IHKIB), said that the Russian sanctions caused several risks for both Turkish and Russian economies as the two countries have strong economic ties in such sectors as energy, food, and tourism, alongside the textile sector.
He said that the country’s textile exports to Russia have already been witnessing a decline for two years due to the falling ruble and the Ukraine crisis. Stating that the textile industry always thinks about the worst-case scenario, Tanriverdi said, “Until the political situation between Turkey and Russia clears up, we have decided to set new strategies to direct the textile exports [originally destined for] Russia to the African market.”
Turkey has trade relations with Nigeria, and has initiated bilateral talks with Cameroon. The association is also exploring six more countries and a market of 35 million people via Cameroon hoping to double the ready-to-wear exports to Africa in three years.
On the other hand, the foreign trade volume between the Turkey and Russia reached $31.2 billion in 2014 – a 17.3 per cent increase from the previous year.
www.ihkib.org.tr
