Turkey And Greece Textile And Garment Industry On The "One Belt And One Road"

On November 6th -12, more than 20 people from the Turkey and Greece textile and garment industry research and cooperation group, led by Gao Yong, secretary and Secretary General of the China Textile Industry Federation, came to Turkey, Greece, and the government departments and business representatives of the two countries to conduct in-depth docking, laying a solid foundation for the international cooperation of China's textile and garment industry.

Turkey has a more complete textile and garment industry chain, and the textile and garment industry plays a decisive role in Turkey's economy. There are more than 56000 textile and garment enterprises and 910 thousand of them employ. The industry has the characteristics of cluster development, mainly concentrated in three major regions: the Marmara region, the Aegean Sea area and the library area. Turkey's cotton also has some influence, its per unit area and quality are improving continuously, and its lint yield is 806 thousand tons in 2018. Because of its special geographical advantages, Turkey is still one of the important trade hubs, and its total textile and apparel trade ranks the top ten in the world.

In 2018, Turkey imported 2 billion 50 million dollars of textiles and clothing from China, accounting for 9.9% of Turkey's total imports from China. In the same period, textile and clothing accounted for 8.4% of total export trade to China, and the export amount was 240 million US dollars. In order to protect the development of local textile and garment industry and reduce the impact of international market on domestic industry, the Turkey government has greatly increased import tariffs on textile and clothing in recent years. At the same time, it provides incentive policies for processing enterprises. Many Turkey textile and garment companies have imported semi-finished products from other countries such as China. After processing and finishing, they have enjoyed the relevant tax and fee reduction policies in North America and Western Europe.

During his visit to Turkey, the delegation met face-to-face with the Federation of Turkey entrepreneurs, the top of the Turkey Home Textile Association and more than 20 Turkey textile and garment entrepreneurs. During the exchange process, the two sides conducted detailed consultation and Discussion on all aspects of the two textile industrial chain, and expressed their willingness to cooperate. During the survey, the delegation also visited many textile and garment manufacturers.

Greece is located in the southernmost part of the Balkans. It is located in the Eurasian hub and has obvious regional advantages. As a member of the European Union, Greece has played a role as a European gateway, and its strategic position is very prominent. Greece is an important cotton producer and exporter in the European Union. In 2018, 307 thousand tons of lint cotton were produced in Greece, accounting for 80% of the annual cotton production in the EU. At present, the Greek textile and garment industry mainly focuses on the research and production of high value-added products, pays attention to the training of design ability and provides high quality design services to customers. Its capacity basically transferred from local to India and Turkey, and the number of local production enterprises is relatively small.

The silk industry is one of the oldest and most important textile industries in Greece. Textile and clothing is one of the important export products of Greece, accounting for about 4.3% of the total export volume. In 2018, total exports of Greek textiles amounted to US $1 billion 677 million, of which total textile exports amounted to US $972 million, total textile exports amounted to US $705 million, and total imports of textiles and clothing amounted to US $2 billion 749 million, of which total textile imports amounted to US $850 million and total imports of clothing amounted to US $1 billion 899 million.

From the perspective of exports, cotton is the most important export product besides clothing. In 2018, Greece exported 399 million US dollars, accounting for 23.8% of the total exports of textiles and clothing. The main export destinations for cotton were Turkey, Egypt, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam. From the point of view of imports, chemical fiber filament, staple fiber and related fabric products are the most important imported products except garments. In 2018, imports amounted to US $212 million. China was the first importing country for these products, followed by Turkey and Italy.

During the Greek research, the delegation communicated with the Greek clothing association, the Greek Fashion Association and many cotton textile enterprises. The Greek government attached great importance to this delegation's visit and sent out the Minister of investment and development of Greece to attend this exchange conference. During the survey, the delegation also visited many textile and garment production and design enterprises in the field.

During his inspection, Gao Yong said that Turkey and Greece were important partners in building China's "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "twenty-first Century Maritime Silk Road", echoing the initiative launched by China and the two countries played an intermediary role. China's textile industry has been in a low growth stage in recent years. To accelerate the pace of industrial adjustment, we must change the export oriented industry development mode. At present, China's import of yarn and clothing is increasing. The promotion of domestic and foreign policies has accelerated the speed of outward transfer of production capacity. At present, the regional structural adjustment is rapidly extending from the garment industry to the textile industry. Turkey and Greece have strong advantages in brand and fashion design. We hope that the two sides will strengthen close cooperation and win each other so as to realize the high quality development of the textile industry.