Turkey’s protective clothing and mask exports reached $573.4 million in the first half of this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (IHKIB) on Monday.
EU IS THE TOP EXPORT MARKET
“We saw a record high year-on-year growth in the figure with 986% in January-June,” said Mustafa Gultepe, the head of IHKIB. Gultepe said Turkish companies accelerated works to meet the strong global demand for masks and protective clothes.
He underlined that the share of the sector on Turkey’s total readymade garment and clothing exports reached 8.2%.
Despite the rise in June, exports shrank 19.8% to $7 billion in six-month period, Gultepe noted. “There is a revive in the EU, our top export market and we see surge in new export orders,” he said, adding: “If we do not face the second wave [of the coronavirus], we can recover rapidly after September.”