Despite rising costs, a contracting domestic market, and global uncertainties, the Turkish textile machinery sector demonstrated strong performance in 2025 by maintaining its export-oriented structure. Adil Nalbant, President of the Textile Machinery and Accessories Industrialists Association (TEMSAD), stated that the sector realized $969 million in exports in the January–November 2025 period and that exports are expected to exceed $1 billion by the end of the year, with approximately a 10% increase.
Noting that 2025 was a period of significant challenges for the Turkish textile machinery sector, Nalbant emphasized that rising production costs undermined global competitiveness. He highlighted that the contraction in Türkiye’s textile and ready-to-wear sectors negatively reflected on domestic machinery sales. Nonetheless, the sector maintained its presence in export markets and pursued expansion into emerging textile markets. The $969 million export figure for the January–November period indicated a 9.3% increase compared to the same period in 2024. This increase was attributed not only to new machines sent to export markets but also to the ongoing relocation of textile and ready-to-wear investments to Egypt and the export of machines from closed textile and ready-to-wear factories in Türkiye as second-hand equipment to other textile markets.
“OUR MANUFACTURERS CONTINUED R&D INVESTMENT.” Textile machinery imports showed a remarkable decline in 2025. Compared to January–November 2024, imports decreased by approximately 20%, reaching $1.1 billion. Based on these figures, exports are expected to exceed $1 billion, with a roughly 10% increase for full-year 2025, while imports are projected to fall by up to 20%, reaching approximately $1.2 billion. Pointing out that increases in energy, raw material, and labor costs could not be proportionally reflected in machine sale prices to maintain competitiveness, Nalbant reminded that the sector had long competed on being “more affordable than Europe, higher quality than China.” However, at this point, sector costs have reached European levels, while China has maintained its price advantage and achieved significant improvements in quality and standards, making it a strong competitor. Despite all these changing conditions, Nalbant stated that Turkish textile machinery manufacturers continued their R&D investments, maintained their presence in export markets, and decisively pursued activities to seize opportunities in emerging new textile markets.
“TURKIYE HOLDS THE 5TH LARGEST POSITION IN GLOBAL TEXTILE EXPORTS” Nalbant noted that global economic fluctuations, stagnant demand, war economies, and major economies seeking a new balance have challenged not only Türkiye but also European manufacturers. He stated that the rapid rise of China and other Asian countries has had a decisive effect on global balances. In Türkiye, policies aimed at stabilizing exchange rates, interest rates, and inflation—particularly suppressing foreign exchange and keeping interest rates high—have negatively impacted producers. Highlighting Türkiye’s strong position in global textile and ready-to-wear production, Nalbant recalled that, according to 2024 data, Türkiye accounted for 3.3% of the $350 billion global textile export market with $11.6 billion in exports, making it the world’s 5th largest textile exporter. In the ready-to-wear and apparel sector, Türkiye held 3.2% of the $620 billion global export volume with $19.7 billion in exports, ranking 6th. However, he emphasized that there has recently been a significant capacity reduction and employment loss, with Türkiye’s global market share falling below 3% for the first time in years, and the share of textile and apparel sectors in Türkiye’s total exports dropping below 10%. During this period, rising production costs and exchange rate policies caused some textile and ready to-wear producers to relocate to countries like Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan, or to cease operations, mainly affecting “basic textile” product groups. In contrast, the increase in technical textile production and exports indicated a structural transformation in the sector.
“TOP COUNTRIES FOR TURKISH MACHINERY EXPORTS IN 2025: EGYPT, PAKISTAN, INDIA” In 2025, the countries with the highest increase in Turkish textile machinery exports were Egypt, Pakistan, and India, according to Nalbant. Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Russia, and Iran also remained important markets. Countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria in North Africa, as well as Portugal and Russia, were identified as potential markets for increased exports. The machines exported to these countries were mainly dyeing and finishing machines, denim machines, printing machines, quality control, and spreading-cutting machines, with textile machinery spare parts continuing to be an important export item. Sustainability and environmentally friendly production continue to be among the main agenda items of the sector in line with global buyers’ preferences. Nalbant stated that technologies that save energy and water and increase production efficiency provide significant advantages to Turkish firms in global markets. Within this scope, meetings held under the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) with sector stakeholders showcased Turkish textile machinery manufacturers’ contributions to sustainability and innovative solutions on international platforms. Nalbant noted that trends expected to most affect the sector in coming years include sustainability, efficien cy-focused technologies, automa tion systems, and AI-supported quality control solutions. These technologies are expected to reduce error rates in production, increase efficiency, and reduce waste.
“TEXTILE INVESTMENTS INCREASING IN MOROCCO, PORTUGAL, RUSSIA, AND THE USA” Among target markets, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Egypt remain important. Nalbant stated that increasing textile investments in Morocco, Portugal, Russia, and the USA provide new opportunities for Turkish textile machinery manufacturers. To enhance competitive advantage, it is critical to make production costs more manageable, bring financial instruments to competitive levels, and effectively promote Turkish machines in target markets. TEMSAD continues its efforts to increase the visibility of Turkish firms at national and international fairs and events. Nalbant reminded that ITM 2026, the largest international textile machinery exhibition in Türkiye, will be held from 9–13 June 2026 at Istanbul Tüyap Fair and Congress Center, emphasizing that the exhibition will serve as an important platform reflecting the production strength and potential of the region as well as Türkiye. He highlighted that ITM 2026 will be a strategic meeting point where new technologies, innovative solutions, and sector trends come together.
“2026 WILL BE A YEAR OF BALANCE; WE WILL CONTINUE THE STRUGGLE” Regarding expectations for 2026, Nalbant predicted that the year will largely be shaped by monetary policies similar to 2025. With a suppressed exchange rate, balanced interest rate policies, and macroeconomic practices focused on reducing inflation continuing, he expects economic conditions to follow a trajectory similar to 2025. Therefore, he considers 2026 a “year of balance” for the sector. Nalbant emphasized that during this period, focused on maintaining production and export strength, the sector will continue its struggle.
