Greek debt crisis hit Turkish textile industry

03 Jul '15

2 min read

After the exports of the Turkish textile and apparel sector to Greece went up 9.1 per cent to $116 million in 2014, the first five months of 2015 concluded with a 19 per cent decline, according to Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters Association (IHKIB) President Hikmet Tanriverdi.

“Manufacturers in Turkey are not favoring long term installment offers due to the high risk. There is no trust in Greek banks left,” adds Footwear Industrialists Association of Turkey (TASD) President Hüseyin Çetin.

he TASD president states that from 2014 Turkey was able to increase its exports by 50 per cent to $10 million. While sales in the first six months of 2015 were at $5.1 million, seemingly heading towards the same trend as 2014, the future outlook is a major concern.

The prospect of Greece leaving the Euro would carry severe implications according to Seref Faya Turkey Clothing Manufacturers' Association (TGSD). “The Euro would lose value in the face of the dollar which would hinder our sales.”

Grecece has been tottering on the edge of financial collapse after the government failed to repay an IMF loan of 1.7 billion dollars this week.

Greece goes to a referendum on Sunday that will test whether Greek citizens want to stay in the eurozone. New elections could also be held if Greece’s financial situation worsens.

Or Greece could test the willingness of Russia or China to help should talks with Europe falter.

Some people are now saying that the real deadline for Greece is late July, after all the warnings that a Tuesday deadline with the IMF was the make-or-break day. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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