Mustafa Gültepe, Chairman of TİM, stated that the preparations for the second edition of the IFCO – Istanbul Fashion Connection Apparel & Fashion Exhibition, the global meeting point of the fashion industry, are continuing:
IFCO, which we expect 15 thousand buyers from more than 100 countries, will provide at least 1 billion dollars plus on exports.
Reminding that IFCO has been included in the scope of 50 percent support by the Ministry of Commerce, Mustafa Gültepe, Chairman of Turkish Exporters Assembly, said, “We expect 15 thousand visitors, 5 thousand of whom are qualified buyers, from EU countries, England, USA, Russia, Middle East and Gulf countries. I recommend our companies that want to find new partners abroad or that plan to expand abroad for the first time, to take their place at IFCO as soon as possible.”
The countdown continues for the second edition of IFCO – Istanbul Fashion Connection Apparel & Fashion Exhibition, the first of which was initiated by the Istanbul Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association in cooperation with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. The exhibition will be held between 24-26 August and 15 thousand visitors, 5 thousand of which are qualified buyers from more than 100 countries is expected, will contribute at least 1 billion dollars to ready-made clothing exports.
Mustafa Gültepe, Chairman of Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), recorded that they hosted more than 25 thousand visitors, 12 thousand of which were foreigners, at the fair, which was held for the first time in February with the participation of nearly 600 domestic and foreign companies. Gültepe, who is also the President of İHKİB, said:
WE MADE ISTANBUL THE GLOBAL MEETING POINT OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY
With IFCO, we gathered all product groups under one roof, from women’s, men’s and children’s wear to underwear, from wedding dresses and evening dresses to leather and fur garments. We held the largest ready-made clothing fair in Europe with an area of 35 thousand square meters at the Istanbul Expo Center. We made Istanbul the global meeting point of the fashion industry. Right after the first organization, our fair was included in the scope of 50 percent support by our Ministry of Commerce. With the moral support given by our Ministry, we started the preparations for the second fair. As in the first, there is great interest from abroad for the second fair. We expect 15 thousand visitors, 5 thousand of which are qualified buyers, from EU countries, which are our biggest markets, from the UK, the USA, Russia, the Middle East and Gulf countries. I recommend our companies that want to find new partners abroad or that plan to expand abroad for the first time, to take their place at IFCO as soon as possible.”
APPAREL MANAGED TO PERFORM OF US$ 10.8 BILLION IN 6 MONTHS IN EXPORTS
Mustafa Gültepe said that the leap they caught last year in ready-made clothing and apparel exports continued this year as well. Gültepe stated that the sector realized an export of 1 billion 972 million dollars in June and 10.8 billion dollars in the first 6 months, with an increase of 14.5 percent compared to the previous year.
“With this result we achieved, we achieved our most successful performance both in June and in the first six months. Orders from abroad continue. In June, our capacity utilization rate reached the pre-pandemic level with 84.8 percent. Orders are full for the next few months.
We anticipate that our companies will receive orders of at least 1 billion dollars in addition to the existing ones at the IFCO, which we will organize at the end of August. We started 2022 with an export target of 23 billion dollars. The results of the first 6 months show that the target is not far. In order to be able to respond to orders, we need to make new investments very quickly, especially in Anatolia. In addition to regional incentives, if our companies are provided with easy access to affordable financing, we can turn Anatolia into a production base with sustainable, environmentally friendly green factories and move Turkey higher in the global apparel industry league.”
