Turkey's protective clothing and mask exports hit $573.4 million in the first half of this year amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to head of Istanbul Apparel Exporters' Association (IHKIB) Mustafa Gültepe, who recently said the country witnessed a record high year-on-year (YoY) growth of 986 per cent between January and June.
The country exported $144.7 million worth of masks and $428.7 worth of protective clothing in the first six months of this year, he said.Turkey's protective clothing and mask exports hit $573.4 million in the first half of this year amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to head of Istanbul Apparel Exporters' Association (IHKIB) Mustafa Gültepe, who recently said the country witnessed a record high year-on-year (YoY) growth of 986 per cent between January and June.#
The share of these items in Turkey's total readymade garment exports reached 8.2 per cent, according to Turkish media reports.
Gültepe said readymade garment exports surged 25 per cent annually in June after a three-month decline. Despite the rise in June, exports shrank 19.8 per cent to $7 billion in the six months, he noted.
"If we do not face a second wave [of the coronavirus], we can recover rapidly after September," he said.
He underlined that the bounce back in the last quarter will not be enough to offset the loss. "We may close the year with 15-20 per cent shrinkage," Gültepe added.
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