The competitiveness of Türkiye’s apparel and hosiery industry was on the agenda at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) October assembly. According to Turkish business daily Ekonomim on 13 October 2026, Ender Doğan, chairman of the Hosiery Manufacturers Association (Çorap Sanayicileri Derneği, ÇSD), told members that shrinking exports, higher labour costs and import pressure are squeezing manufacturers. He called for an open debate on the future of the current production model and for any transformation to be managed according to a plan.
The numbers behind the warning
The figures Doğan shared trace the sector’s trajectory since 2022:
- Apparel exports have fallen from USD 21.2 billion in 2022 to USD 16.8 billion.
- Hosiery exports declined from USD 1.32 billion to USD 1.15 billion, although hosiery’s share of apparel exports rose from 6.1% to 6.9%.
- Apparel imports have grown from USD 2.9 billion to around USD 5 billion.
- Labour’s share of total costs has risen from 40% in 2022 to 55% this year, compared with about 30% in competing countries, according to Doğan.
Doğan argued that if the projections in Türkiye’s Medium-Term Programme materialise, labour could reach 60% of costs. In hosiery, he said, investment in technology, the ability to produce with fewer workers and existing capacity have limited the losses, but this relative resilience has not solved the underlying problems.
Why Egypt keeps coming up
Doğan said that around three weeks before his speech he visited six factories in Egypt, two in hosiery and four in garment making; four were Turkish-owned and two Indian-owned. He described the level of state support and new investment there as striking, saying: “Right now the whole world is setting up there with its production power.”
According to the figures he cited, Egypt’s apparel exports grew from USD 2.5 billion in 2022 to USD 3.4 billion in 2025 and are expected to reach USD 4 billion this year. Industry representatives in Egypt have spoken of a goal of USD 13 billion in exports and of overtaking Türkiye. Doğan also argued that Turkish textile companies have been moving production abroad without sufficient planning and foresight.
The limits of contract manufacturing
Doğan said the sector must be assessed not only on today’s costs but also on future labour conditions as the population ages. Türkiye, he argued, needs long-term decisions on what it produces, under what conditions and how, because a model built solely on contract (CMT) manufacturing has reached its limits. Industry should aim to produce at lower cost, faster and with less energy, while the trading side focuses on bringing products to market at higher value.
For brands and sourcing teams, the message is that conversations about sourcing from Türkiye are shifting away from price and towards speed, quality and added value.
Related solutions
This article was summarised and commented on by the LTS Frekans editorial team, drawing on the source article.
