The ready-to-wear sector demands a special and higher exchange rate to remain competitive and avoid laying off workers.
Industry representatives met with the Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati last month and conveyed their demands for a more advantageous exchange rate while converting export revenues to lira.
Commenting on the subject to Bloomberg, Turkish Garment Manufacturers Association Leader Ramazan Kaya said, “The pressure on the exchange rate increases our costs. Since 70 percent of our exports are to Europe, the shrinking demand there is added to this. We miss our chance to compete at these prices.”
According to Kaya, the branch that employs around 2 million workers when retail and shopping malls are also involved may have to lay off around 100,000 workers this year. “There have already been around 30 thousand layoffs in the last 3-4 months,” Kaya says.
The demand for “Dollar/TL will be 23 for 9 months”
Kaya said that the ideal rate for the department could be around 23 lira/dollar and 24 lira/euro, and that the special exchange rate could be applied for a discontinuous period of up to 9 months.
Saying, “We lagged behind the overall,” Kaya cites the parity fluctuation and the threat of recession in export markets amid the reasons for this image. Kaya said, “If the current rules continue, we can decrease to around 20 billion dollars in 2023”.
