Industry News
TGSD Fighting Quake Aftermath: 350,000 Apparel/Textile Workers Live in the Region
By Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh, Senior International Correspondent
Reducing misery - limiting consequential economic damage
A pilot area of 22,000 square meters has been allocated to the Turkish Garment Manufacturing Association (TGSD – Türkiye Giyim Sanayicileri Derneği) in Adıyaman near the industrial zone – one of the strongholds for both apparel and textile production. Here TGSD started to establish an accommodation and healthcare center including a kindergarten for more than 1,500 children. “We will be supporting this region by donating containers, and help establish to decrease the social impact by creating a functional environment,” says an accompanying statement. This project and the required donations will serve the ultimate goal to keep providing employment in the region for women as well as men and start manufacturing again at full capacity.
11 district cities in the South East of Turkey, namely Kahramanmaraş, Malatya, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Kilis, Şanlıurfa, Adana, Diyarbakır, and Elazığ, were affected enormously by the major earthquakes and their aftershocks.
The main employers in that region are manufacturing, textile, apparel, steel, cement, and agriculture in 36 industrial zones – all of them affected by the earthquakes.
How essential the initiative now launched by the TGSD and thus the joint Turkish clothing manufacturers is, in humanitarian as well as economic terms, is shown by the following key data: 1,616 garment and 1,290 textile companies operating in the 11 provinces.
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More than 44,000 were killed; 125,000 were injured; 85,000 or more buildings had been demolished or damaged also by the partly heavy aftershocks according to announcements by authorities and media. Photo dpa
The regional apparel sector employs almost 150,000 workers whereas additionally, whereas nearly 200,000 people work in the textile industry. That makes roughly 35% of Turkiye’s workers in the apparel and textile industries, living in the region. 45 percent of the Turkish production capacity for apparel and textiles is located in the region.
In 2022 the apparel export from the region was 565 million US dollars, making up 2.6 percent of total apparel exports. The textile export, on the other hand, was 3.4 billion US dollars generating 30 percent of the total Turkish textile export last year. There are garment factories in Malatya, Elazığ, Şanlıurfa, and Adıyaman and textile mills in Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep. The impacts on other factories located in Malatya, Elazığ, Şanlıurfa Kahramanmaraş, and Adıyaman are minor.
In 2022 the apparel export from the region was 565 million US dollars, making up 2.6 percent of total apparel exports. The textile export, on the other hand, was 3.4 billion US dollars generating 30 percent of the total Turkish textile export last year. There are garment factories in Malatya, Elazığ, Şanlıurfa, and Adıyaman and textile mills in Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep. The impacts on other factories located in Malatya, Elazığ, Şanlıurfa Kahramanmaraş, and Adıyaman are minor.
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