Businessmen from Turkey and Bangladesh said the countries have immense potential to work together in fashion and fabric trade. They said Bangladesh is one of the reliable sources in the world for producing readymade garments while Turkey is becoming a hub of good quality fabrics for the Middle East, and Eastern European fashion. Turkish businesses showed an interest in increasing the trade volume between Bangladesh and Turkey in the field of textile and clothing, saying Bangladesh can be the promising market for good quality fabrics while Turkey can be an important export destination for value added RMG products. However, business-to-business and government-to-government initiatives are necessary for that to happen. ‘Recently our imports from Bangladesh declined as we concentrated in creating variety in fashion and develop the quality of our product, to consolidate our stand in the world fashion market,’ Pinar Tasdelen Engin, vice president of Uludag Exporters Association, told New Age. She said that Bangladesh is a very good business partner for Turkey in textile and clothing and there is wide scope to increase the trade as Bangladesh imports a large quantity of fabrics and Turkey produces fashionable and high quality yearn and fabrics. ‘Turkey mainly imports basic products from Bangladesh for re-export but now we have increased our capacity at the high-end segment and so import from Bangladesh has decreased,’ Tasdelen said. She said the Turkish textile industry has expanded its capacity and the sector is moving forward with technology up-gradation. To show the strengths of its textile industry, Turkey recently organised a fashion and fabric fair titled Premiere Vision Istanbul. In the show, 146 exhibitors, mostly Turkish companies, presented their collections from March 23 to 25. Exhibitors from Italy, Germany, Portugal, France, Austria, Bulgaria, United Kingdom, Romania, Lithuania, Morocco, China, India, Taiwan and Pakistan showcases their fashion collection like yarns, fabrics, designs, accessories and denims, at the event. Turkey, the largest textile producer and second largest apparel supplier to the EU, aims to take its textile export to $500 billion by 2023, Tasdelen said. ‘To reach the goal we plan to vastly invest in the sector, and considering the duty facilities, Turkish investors have the opportunity to setup industry in Bangladesh, but government initiatives from both countries are necessary for that to happen,’ she said. ‘Our goal is to offer the show’s visitors a full-package. During the past months the fashion landscape changed dramatically due to uncertainty reigning over the market and the geopolitical tensions in the area,’ said Philippe Pasquet, Premiere Vision CEO. He hoped that Istanbul would be the capital of fashion in the Middle East area. Turkish government imposed 17 percent duty on import of textile and gar ment items from Bangladesh in June 2012 to protect its domestic apparel industry. All Bangladeshi products, except garment items, enjoy zero-duty benefit in the Turkish market. Despite imposing safeguard duty, Bangladesh exports to Turkey grew by 40 per cent to $856.19 million in the financial year 2013-2014. According to Bangladesh Bank data, import from Turkey in the financial year 2013-14 totalled $183.54 million. In the financial year 2014-15, Bangladesh exports to Turkey fell to $720.88 million. Shahidullah Azim, former vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said that Turkey is a very good market for Bangladesh and to increase the trade volume between the two markets, the government would have to take initiatives to remove duty barriers. ‘Turkey produces very costly and high end fabrics and we can produce high-end products through importing the fabrics, if Turkey ensures they will import value added products from Bangladesh,’ he said. The government of Bangladesh and Turkey had taken an initiative to sign Turkey-Bangladesh Free Trade Agreement in 2012 but the initiative has made no headway since. If the FTA is signed, Turkey would be a key partner for Bangladesh in textile and clothing, Azim said.
