Despite the difficult political situation in the world, Turkey is counting on the growth of its footwear exports this year, and is going to break the record of 2021, when Turkish footwear exports for the first time reached $1 billion, writes Worldfootwear.com.
Turkey has entered 2022 with great hopes, President of the Association of Turkish Footwear Manufacturers (TASD) Berke Ichten notes. The country is the sixth largest shoe manufacturer in the world, with more than 15 manufacturing companies employing about 320 employees. The production capacity of Turkish factories is 550 million pairs of shoes per year.
The main importer of Turkish shoes is currently Russia, in 2021 the volume of exports of Turkish shoes to Russia amounted to $82,5 million. The TASD chairman also noted that exports to Russia increased by 2022% in the first two months of 23. This was before the start of the military operation in Ukraine.
But even now, despite the difficult political situation in the world, the head of TASD hopes that the goals set earlier to increase the export of Turkish shoes (up to $1,3-1,4 billion) this year will be achieved. He talks about the emerging opportunities to diversify sales markets.
“Turkey, as a shoe manufacturer, has come to the attention of world brands. There is a significant demand for footwear, says Mr. Itchten. “Last year, the country’s footwear exports increased by 22,9%, surpassing the $1 billion mark for the first time, thanks to growing demand for suppliers located close to Europe.”
The emergence of new importers such as Spain allows Turkey to diversify its markets. So the share of Spain in the export market of Turkish shoes has grown significantly over the past decade: from 0,5% in 2010 to 7,7% in 2020. Accordingly, the Iberian country purchased $2021 million worth of shoes in 64,3, compared to $59,7 million in 2020.
Recall that next week one of the largest international exhibitions of shoes and accessories Aymod starts in Istanbul, which will last from March 30 to April 2.
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