Silk, porcelain, and tea have always been the most “hot” trade commodities on the “Silk Road” before 2000; after 2000, the trade of porcelain and tea may not be what it was in the past, but the trade of clothing and silk will be the main products. The textile trade has not been lost in history.
During the interview in Turkey, the reporter found that every evening, countless Turkish vendors selling all kinds of clothing would appear on both sides of the streets in Akasary, the central business district of Istanbul. They either carry clothes racks or set up street stalls, shouting loudly to attract passers-by. Browsing through it, you can find everything from T-shirts, skirts to sportswear, and they feel quite comfortable. The prices only range from 5 to 20 lire (about 10 to 40 yuan). The vendor who speaks English told reporters that most of these clothes come from Bursa in northwest Turkey and are handmade by local family workshops. “Bursa has been the silk center of Turkey for centuries.”
Nowadays, when China’s textile industry is well-known in the international market, thanks to China Unicom’s unique geographical location connecting Europe and Asia, outstanding quality and other factors, Turkey has become the world’s fifth largest textile manufacturer after China, the European Union, the United States and South Korea. clothing exporting country. China and Turkey, both major countries in the textile industry, are both trading partners and competitors in the international market.
Chinese companies still have room for profit
In early June, a home textile exhibition gathering many Chinese independent brands was held at the International Convention and Exhibition Center in Istanbul. Although in the words of Huang Songfeng, the commercial consul of the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, this is the first large-scale exhibition of Chinese home furnishing brands in Turkey, but after four days, 12,076 buyers participated in the exhibition and the transaction volume was US$1.05 million, only 10% of companies have on-site orders. Some exhibitors from Wenzhou and Shaoxing in China told reporters that they actually knew that the industrial chain of the Turkish home textile market was relatively complete, so this trip was mainly to examine the latest trends in this market, and their expectations for transaction volume were not high.
The textile industry is one of the pillars of Türkiye’s economy. According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, textiles and raw materials, mechanical and electrical products, and base metals and products are Turkey’s main export commodities. Among them, textile exports accounted for 18.6% of Turkey’s total exports in 2014, reaching US$29.37 billion, an increase of 5.8%.
“Turkey’s geographical location is very good.” Han Chunfeng, manager of Shaoxing Buisse Textile Co., Ltd., told a reporter from China Business News. In his view, this market spanning the Eurasian continent can radiate product sales to Europe, Central Asia, North Africa and other regions. “Local wholesalers will look for finished products or fabrics from China, process them locally and resell them to Europe,” Han Chunfeng said.
The unique geographical location gives the Turkish market closer contact with Europe than with China. Former Turkish Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen (Kursad Tuzmen) once said: “China takes 6 weeks from order receipt to delivery, while Turkey only takes 1 week.”
Han Chunfeng told reporters that their company’s current profits in the Turkish market are pretty good. They quote prices to local customers and then export them to Europe. After including tariffs, the overall price is still lower than the overall price of purchasing local raw materials. “For example, embroidered cloth sold to local customers for 5 to 6 US dollars per meter (approximately 30 to 40 yuan) is made into ready-made clothes locally and then resold to Europe for 500 euros per piece (more than 3,000 yuan). ).” Therefore, in Han Chunfeng’s view, the profit margin of 20% to 30% can still be maintained.
China’s textile advantage shrinks
For Chinese entrepreneurs seeking gold in the Turkish textile market, although there is still profit margin, what they need to be wary of most is the Turkish government’s trade protection for local companies. At present, the Turkish government’s import tariffs on textiles have increased significantly compared with the past few years. For silk alone, the local tariff has been raised to 115%.
Murat Sungurlu, chairman of the Turkey-China Industry and Commerce Association (TUCSIAD), is also a businessman who imports clothing products from China to Turkey. In an interview with reporters, Murat emphasized that due to the Turkish government’s increase in import tariffs on textiles and the continuous appreciation of the RMB in recent years, the competitive advantage of Chinese textiles in the Turkish market has been greatly weakened. “A few years ago, I could still get some points. In terms of profit, my prices are still competitive compared with the local market, but now customers in the local market are no longer interested in the products I import from China.”
Murat also pointed out that the rising labor costs in China in recent years have also eroded the advantages of importing textiles from China.
In addition, Han Chunfeng also revealed a key reason why some Chinese textile companies have “hit a wall” in Turkey: Turkish customers attach great importance to design and intellectual property rights. “Many of China’s home textile products are copied from Turkey, South Korea and other regions, and then simply processed and resold to the Turkish market.” Han Chunfeng said, “Based on this alone, the large companies with R&D capabilities in Turkey are still Very anti-China.”
In order to promote the development of Turkey’s domestic home textile industry, there are many home textile exhibitions of varying sizes and complete exhibitors in various parts of Turkey every year, which enjoy a high reputation in the industry. Han Chunfeng told reporters bluntly, “Some exhibitions are simply not friendly to Chinese companies.��Opening up, especially home textile exhibitions, is to worry about plagiarism and plagiarism by the Chinese. Murat also told reporters tactfully that the reason why Turkey’s home textile products are well received internationally is that they “always keep up with the trends of the times.”
Of course, this does not mean that Chinese textiles have no advantages in Türkiye. In order to consolidate profits in the Turkish market, Chinese textile companies represented by Han Chunfeng are also pursuing innovation and changes. The reporter saw a piece of black fabric studded with artificial diamonds on Han Chunfeng’s showcase. He told reporters that this is used to make the black robes worn by Muslims. “Nowadays, many Muslim young people pursue fashion and like to add some decorations to the black robes. Although the price is more expensive than ordinary black robe fabrics, it is still popular among wealthy Muslims. There is still a market for it.”
