Leather&Fur Fair, organized by the Turkish Leather Confectioners Association (TDKD), will open its doors in Antalya on May 31. TDKD President Gürkan Gözmen said, “We focused on market diversity in exports. We will host 950 foreign buyers from 13 countries for four days in our country. We anticipate that the fair will contribute at least 30 million dollars to the sector’s exports.”
In the first four months of the year, the leather and fur apparel industry, which achieved an export of 40 million dollars with an increase of 20 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, continues to contribute to Turkey’s total exports. The Leather & Fur fair, organized by the Turkish Leather Confectioners Association (TDKD), the umbrella NGO of the export- and production-oriented sector, will open its doors in Antalya on May 31. The fair, which will host 950 foreign buyers from 13 countries, is expected to contribute at least 30 million dollars to the sector’s exports.
“FOCUS ON MARKET DIVERSITY”
Evaluating the export performance of the sector, Gürkan Gözmen said, “When we examine the figures for the first four months of the year, there is a 20 percent increase in exports. The important thing is to make this increase sustainable. In my opinion, Turkey is in the top three in the world in terms of production potential and quality in the leather, fur and apparel industry. Foreigners think the same way. Our fair has become a real attraction for buyers around the world. Our fashion show, which has become a classic, has become the direction of leather and fur fashion.”
THE EFFECT OF WAR
Stating that the Russia-Ukraine war has negatively affected global trade, Gözmen said, “Russia is one of our important export markets. The important thing here is to provide market diversity. This is due to the fact that our manufacturers closely follow the trends in the world and participate in foreign fairs. As an association, our main goal is to enable our companies to expand abroad, to help them access finance more easily, and to provide consultancy for them to discover new export markets. We need to solve the structural problems of our industry. If we can achieve this, we will contribute twice as much to the country’s exports. We have the potential and production capability to do this.”
