Turkiye trying to regain share in Saudi Arabia's apparel market

Turkiye is a major supplier of garments and textiles to Saudi Arabia. It also imports some garments and textiles from Saudi Arabia. But trade between the two had declined after 2018 due to diplomatic tensions and an undeclared boycott by Saudi Arabia, causing injury to Turkiye’s apparel exports to Saudi Arabia.

In 2019, Turkiye exported apparel worth $268.61 million to Saudi Arabia, which decreased by 35 per cent to $172.87 million in 2020. In 2021, the value further dropped by over 90 per cent to $14.42 million, according to data from Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro.

Though Turkiye’s apparel imports from Saudi Arabia are very negligible, they have also come down drastically. Apparel imports of Turkiye were $1.61 million in 2019, which declined to $1.43 million in 2020. However, Turkiye increased its imports last year to woo Saudi Arabia. As a result, Turkish imports increased by about 70 per cent to $2.45 million in 2021, as per TexPro.

During his visit, Erdogan said that both countries are willing to reignite the best economic potential. Turkiye’s exports to Saudi Arabia grew by 25 per cent in the first quarter of the current year amid efforts by the two countries to improve ties.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)