TR
KEY ELEMENT OF THE ECONOMY: YARN
Issued by Bülent Ünal, TÜYAP Executive Board Chairman.
The textile sector is the leading indispensable sector in Turkish industry under any circumstances. From yarn to weaving, knitting and ready-to-wear clothing, it is a business where millions of people earn a living. The majority of those employed are women and most of them have no other qualifications. The first link of the professional chain, which is very important for the national economy, is yarn. There is huge international competition in this business today. This competition is quite conspicuous both in the production and marketing of yarn.
In 2018 is the fifteenth year of the Yarn Fair organized by TÜYAP. It is unique in Turkey and there are only a few fairs in this field around the world. Turkey is the biggest manufacturer in the region. 308 companies and company representatives from 15 countries participated in the 2018 fair. 2,750 visitors from 84 countries, which makes up 22% of the 12,500 visitors whom are directly related to the business, were hosted at TÜYAP and a huge marketing opportunity was created. The fair will be held again in 2019 between February 28th and March 2nd. TÜYAP organizes the second biggest Textile Machinery Fair of the yarn industry, ITM, after ITMA in Europe. I should also note that the ITMA Fair is held once every four years. Moreover, the fair we have organized biennially for more than 25 years in the field of Ready-to-Wear Clothing Machinery and Sub-Industry is the largest and most influential organization of the European Union and Eurasia.
The textile and ready-to-wear clothing sector in our country is one of the top three positions in exports along with automotive and chemistry and has national input to a large extent. The sector ranks first particularly in the employment of women, which has a highly positive impact on issues which we must attach importance to such as social peace and gender equality in the workplace.
Our country will never abandon textile and ready-to-wear clothing. This effort not only brings about certain opportunities but also threats. Turkey has the ability to move quickly in the textile and ready-to-wear clothing sector. Turkey has a flexible production capability and is very close to its target markets. Considering that our exports are largely to the developed EU countries, we should not disregard new EU countries such as Romania, Croatia, Slovenia and Poland as our possible competitors in ready-to-wear clothing.
The fair organization business enriches the cities and countries where such organizations are held. Thousands of people voluntarily come together for a certain purpose at a prescribed period of time and this fair creates a huge synergy along with the connections. Transportation, accommodation, food and souvenir sectors receive a large share from this development. Architects, stand producers, electricians, carpenters, blacksmiths and painters, transporters and customs agents reach a big market in addition to their standard tasks. University students can contribute to their education by working within the fairs. Fairs make huge contributions to the economic and social development of the city and country where they are organized.
TÜYAP has fair areas in Bursa, Konya, Adana, Samsun, Diyarbakır and Erzurum along with İstanbul; fair activities are regularly organized in these cities whereas fairs specific to certain businesses are held in İzmir, Kocaeli and Antalya. They have their own offices in Russia, Georgia, Iran, Jordan, Macedonia and Bulgaria. They have continued their sales and advertising activities for 39 years with nearly 50 liaison offices which employ 730 people the world.
Located within the fair area in İstanbul, 5-star Tüyap Palas Hotel with 630 rooms provides comfort to the participants and visitors.
Bülent Ünal