World expansion of Turkish Business leader

BESO JGERENAIA

Every year fairs of different kinds of Turkish products are organised in Turkey, where many companies from Turkey and other countries exhibit their products.

Many companies around the world are invited to start new trade relations with these companies, which really affects Turkish export-import and increases rating of Turkish products in the world market.
In Georgia the image of Turkish product is not favourable. Georgian people think that Turkish products are very cheap and of lower quality. This is not true. The reason is that small Georgian firms import cheap and low-quality products from Turkey. Small firms make agreements with Turkish firms on the purchase of low-quality products at low prices in order to see bigger profits. This damages the image of Turkish goods in Georgia as well as economy of both countries. The only ones to benefit from it are small firms. The Office of the Commercial Counsellor in the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey is really concerned about this problem and is ready to take steps to eradicate the problem. Commercial counsellor Mr. Okan Ozturk said: “The Turkish products that I see in Georgia are not of high quality, which really damages the image of Turkish products. Our objective is to change this by putting Georgian major companies in touch with Turkish manufacturers, inviting them to fairs and showing them the real high quality products thus promoting big and useful trade between the two neighbouring countries.
This year there was leather fair. Many companies and press representatives from around the world as well as from Georgia were invited to the fair. Leather Sector, one of the leading sectors of Turkish economy, set back to work after the effects of the Iraqi War in 2003. The Sector has launched the Istanbul Leather Fair “IDF” organized by RDF and TURKEL. The fair took place on January 15-17 2004 in CNR expo centre ? Istanbul.
IDF fair took place in a net area of 20 222 square meters in 5 halls. 348 participants displayed the latest fashions in the leather world. Participants were mainly from Turkey. There were also participants from Italy, Iran, Greece, Spain, Germany, France, Syria, Hong Kong and Taiwan. 96 companies exhibited leather garments, 94 companies exhibited leather, 67 companies – tanning machines and 55 – chemical manufacturers. 29 component manufactures and designers also displayed their products.
The opening ceremony of IDF took place in the main hall at 13.00 hrs. The ceremony was opened by Member of Board of RDF Fair Organization Mr. Tufan Atalayaman; chairman Of Turkel Fair organization Mr. Korhan Yazgan; chairman of the Foundation of Manufacturers of Ready-Made Leather Clothing of Turkey Mr. Kadir Uluduz; Chairman of the Turkish Leather Trust Mr. Sahin Eroglu; president of Istanbul Leather Exporters Mr. Mehmet Buyukeksi; mayor of the district of Zeytinburnu Mr. Murat Aydin; president of the Council of Exporters of Turkey Mr. Oguz Satici; the Magistrate of Zeytinburnu Mr. Mustafa Pekdemir. The State Minister in charge of Foreign Trade, Kursad Tuzmen made the following speech: “Dear guests and our guests from abroad ? at the moment among us there are guests coming from some forty countries and almost four hundred companies ; we have together created the most serious organization. For this reason, the importance of this kind of unity and togetherness is very great, coming from both the leather industry and leather exports. About thirteen separate foundations have come together to serve Turkey’s exports. Of course, the work of the Turkish Leather Trust, in particular, in coming together under this framework makes us most happy. This looks good on us, too. The fact that all representatives of the sector have come together is a clear demonstration that strength comes form unity, and for this I congratulate you all. Where the given figures are a clear demonstration of advancement, Turkish leather exports have increased thirty-three percent over last year; but when we look behind this, we can see that the increase in exports to the European Union remained at around twelve percent, while exports to the United States were between fifty and sixty-one percent. This means that ? of course, here the recent problems in the European Union, with the effect of the dollar on the euro, have had an effect on the drop in purchasing power ? we have to prepare here products suitable for the high consumer profile. This will happen with a clear understanding of the concept of fashion. I believe that the leather sector in Turkey has come so far with great difficulties. I believe that we will have much greater success in the future. As our president said, the small problems you face will soon disappear, and we will do whatever possible to create the opportunity for you to continue your work in a comfortable atmosphere. I would like to express my pleasure at being here with you and at being together in this successful organization, the first of which you have made.” He announced the fair as opened.
The fair was really grandiose being beautifully designed by the most professional and famous choreographers and fashion shows with the participation of Turkish top models. As I said earlier the objective of the fair was to attract companies from other countries and to expand the export of leather from Turkey. Kadir Uluduz said in his speech: “Unfortunately, the Turkish leather sector has shrunk by thirty-five percent in 2003, as compared to 2002. We exported approximately twenty-seven percent of the leather produced from 400 million small cattle in 2002. However, in the year 2003, a significant decrease occurred in comparison with the year before. These two important reasons caused the gathering of large and small companies and the organization of this fair. As the fundamental reason for all of this is the creation of high-quality goods; that is, to allow the creation of a brand-name in the sector, with Turkish leather of an even higher quality.”
On January 16th a meeting was held in Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Associations (ITKIB) that was founded by the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade and related private sector Associations in 1986 with the view to organizing export-led activities for maintaining the growth of Turkish exports.
– ITKIB under its General Secretariat holds the following four main groups;
– Ready Made Garments Export ers’ Association
– Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association
– Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association
– Carpet Exporters’ Association
As of January 2004,
– Istanbul Ready Made Garments Exporters’ Association has 9 227 member exporters;
– Istanbul Textile and Raw Material Exporters’ Association has 3 567 member exporters;
– Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association has more than 2 046 member exporters;
– Istanbul Carpet Exporters’ Association has 690 member exporters.
Among these Associations Istanbul Ready Made Garments Exporters’ Association realized export of 8,5 billion US dollars in 2003 which was 73 percent of Turkish total apparel exports.
Size of the leather industry
The Turkish leather industry is one of the most significant industries that contribute to the Turkish economy. This fact can be observed easily after taking some economic indicators into consideration. Turkish leather industry;
– Has a share of 3.3% in total industrial production of Turkey,
– Has the share of 1.5% in total employment,
– Counts for 2.1% of total Turkish Export earnings in 2003,
– Export value reached almost one billion US dollars in 2003. If the shuttle trade between Turkey and CIS (commonwealth of Independent States) is taken into consideration, exports of this industry exceed 2.5 billion US dollars.
Supply Capacity
As for goat and sheepskin, Turkey has the second biggest leather tanning and processing capacity in the world after China. It is the 9th biggest leather processing country and the 7th biggest footwear producer in the world. Today there are about 13 industrial leather zones in Turkey, which enable us to use modern technology and to produce high quality products. Turkey has the biggest production capacity of double face sheepskin leather in the world with 350 million pieces per year. The Turkish leather industry depends on modern production infrastructure in tanning. Leather production has been realized in ecological conditions. Authorities agree that the quality of Turkish leather products is as high as Italian’s.