Fabric was at the top of the Southeast's textile exports

According to the information compiled by the AA correspondent from the Southeastern Anatolia Exporters' Association data, 593 thousand 630 tons of textile products were sent from the region to 187 countries in the January-September period of 2026.

While 2 billion 716 million 887 thousand dollars of income was obtained in return for this export, exports increased by 1.8 percent on quantity and 8 percent on value basis in the said period.

When the sub-product groups were examined, fabric exports, which had a share of 26.9 percent, ranked first, reaching 731 million 861 thousand dollars with an increase of 5.3 percent.

Yarn exports, which have a share of 25.1 percent, increased by 9.8 percent to 680 million 798 thousand dollars. In the fiber group, which has a 5.5 percent share, exports of 150 million 647 thousand dollars were made.

In the fabric group, the highest exports were made in non-woven fabrics, with an increase of 8.2 percent and 536 million 793 thousand dollars.

While knitted fabric exports decreased by 18.3 percent to 111 million 618 thousand dollars, woven fabrics ranked third with 83 million 449 thousand dollars.

While polyp yarn ranked first in the yarn group with 232 million 78 thousand dollars, exports of this product decreased by 1 percent.

Exports of other yarns increased by 22.8 percent to 221 million 13 thousand dollars, and cotton yarn exports increased by 26.8 percent to 172 million 190 thousand dollars. Acrylic yarn exports decreased by 20.7 percent and reached 55 million 517 thousand dollars.

Iraq ranked at the top in textile exports

Among the countries with the highest textile exports from the region, Iraq ranked first with 255 million 870 thousand dollars. Exports to Iraq increased by 2.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

While England ranked second with exports of 238 million 267 thousand dollars, with an increase of 3.6 percent, exports to Syria increased by 38.6 percent, reaching 202 million 109 thousand dollars.

Among the top 20 export countries, increases in exports to Egypt, Germany, Bangladesh and China also attracted attention.

Exports to Egypt increased by 38.8 percent to 113 million 259 thousand dollars, and exports to Germany increased by 17 percent to 108 million 770 thousand dollars. Exports to Bangladesh increased by 79 percent to 63 million 768 thousand dollars, and exports to China increased by 93.8 percent to 41 million 24 thousand dollars.

When evaluated on a provincial basis, Gaziantep's textile exports increased by 6.2 percent and reached 1 billion 225 million 838 thousand dollars. Kahramanmaraş ranked second with an export of 569 million 955 thousand dollars, with a decrease of 4.9 percent. Şanlıurfa's textile exports increased by 102.8 percent to 50 million 435 thousand dollars.

"Just producing products will not be enough in the textile industry"

Southeastern Anatolia Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Association President Mete Akcan told the AA correspondent that textile is a very important sector for the region.

Stating that good figures were achieved especially in the fields of yarn, fabric and fiber, Akcan stated that the sector should comply with the European Green Deal and carbon footprint regulations in the coming period.

Akcan said:

"It is a fact that we are a good export supplier of textiles all over the world. This strengthens our hand. If we are ready for 2030, I think our path is not closed, but open, especially in Europe. In the future, just producing products in the textile industry will not be enough. We think that the production of sustainable, measurable and value-added products will be valuable."