Turkey is a very important global player in textiles and apparel . The erratic movement of the Lira/ USD and Lira/EUR is continuing to impact its ability to import cotton. The Lira last week weakened to 4.3119 per USD representing a 13.40% decline for the year. The pressure on the Lira is being driven by the overall pressure on the developing market’s currencies and the political drama which continues to mark Turkey.

The textile and apparel sector appears to be performing well, even in the face of the Lira’s weakness and political issues. Exports in the first quarter of 2018 have expanded by 11.5%. The US is a small market but exports to the US were up 26.58 % reaching 412.13 million USD, however, cotton products were less than 25% of the volume. The EU is the largest market for Turkish textile and apparel exports with Germany and the UK the largest markets. The UK though has turned into a weak market with retail sales in April suffering the largest monthly drop in sales since 1995.