Egypt continued to stand out as the brightest market for Türkiye’s textile industry in 2025, reinforcing its strategic importance amid a broader slowdown in global exports, according to the latest export performance data released by the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB).
In parallel with the growing relocation of Turkish textile production capacity to Egypt, exports to the country maintained strong momentum for the second consecutive year. Textile exports to Egypt rose by 23% in value terms in 2025, following a sharp 34% increase in 2024, once again making Egypt the fastest-growing destination for Turkish textile exports. Export value climbed from USD 461 million in 2024 to USD 567 million in 2025, with woven fabric exports alone surging by as much as 50%.
Overall Textile and Apparel Exports Decline
Despite Egypt’s strong performance, Türkiye’s textile and apparel industry faced a challenging year overall. Total exports from the combined textile and apparel sectors declined by 4.6% in 2025, falling to USD 25.83 billion.
Textile and raw material exports decreased marginally by 0.8% year on year to USD 11.386 billion, while apparel and garment exports saw a sharper decline of 7.3%, reaching USD 14.445 billion. On a monthly basis, the strongest export growth was recorded in April, with a 9.6% increase, while November marked the steepest contraction at 12.7%.
Africa Gains Ground as EU Exports Ease
The European Union remained Türkiye’s largest textile export market in 2025, with exports totalling USD 4.586 billion, although this represented a 2% decline compared with the previous year. Africa ranked second, recording a robust 14% increase to USD 1.549 billion, while exports to Former Eastern Bloc countries fell by 12.3% to USD 1.372 billion.
In volume terms, exports to the EU declined by 3% to 1 million tonnes. By contrast, shipments to African countries rose by 15.3% to 397,000 tonnes, while exports to the Middle East increased by 11.4% to 329,000 tonnes.
Read more: Egypt Steps Up Efforts to Deepen Local Textile Manufacturing and Reduce Import Dependence
Exports to the Americas showed notable year-end momentum. In December 2025 alone, textile exports to the region jumped by 25% in value and 32% in volume compared with the same month of the previous year.
Egypt Among Top Five Export Destinations
In value terms, Italy remained Türkiye’s leading textile export destination in 2025, with a modest 0.8% increase, followed by the United States (+1.7%) and Germany (-7%). Egypt ranked fourth with a strong 23% rise, while Spain posted a 6% increase. Belarus recorded the steepest decline among the top markets, with exports falling by 14.6%.
Technical Textiles and Woven Fabrics Lead Product Performance
Technical textiles emerged as the top product group in Türkiye’s textile exports by value in 2025, increasing by 3% to USD 2.372 billion. The main destinations for technical textiles were the United States, Germany and Italy, while Morocco recorded the highest growth rate at 43%.
Woven fabrics ranked second, with exports remaining largely stable at USD 2.303 billion. Spain, Morocco and Egypt were the leading markets, with Egypt once again standing out, recording growth of 49%.
Thread exports ranked third, rising slightly by 0.2% to USD 2.207 billion. Italy, Egypt and Portugal were the top destinations, while Spain posted the highest growth rate in this category at 41%.
Other product groups recorded declines, including home textiles (-2.8%), knitted fabrics (-9.6%), fibres (-0.7%) and the apparel sub-industry (-1.2%).
Overall, while Türkiye’s textile sector navigated a difficult global environment in 2025, Egypt’s sustained growth highlighted the country’s rising role as both a production base and export destination within Türkiye’s evolving textile trade landscape.
