Preparing to take the leading position in the world carpet market with its production capacity and product quality, the Turkish carpet sector closed the year 2023 with an export figure of approximately 2.8 billion dollars. Turkish carpet manufacturers sold 612 million 194 thousand square meters of carpets to 180 countries and free zones.
Southeastern Anatolia Exporters’ Associations announced carpet export figures for 2023. According to this; Turkey sold 612 million 194 thousand square meters of carpet to 180 countries and free zones. Turkish carpet manufacturers earned 2 billion 752 million 647 thousand dollars in return for these exports. Although there was a loss of 3.1 percent in machine-made carpets on a value basis, the 31.9 percent increase in handmade carpet exports enabled the sector to maintain the 2022 figures.
The sector earned the highest revenue from machine-made carpets with 2 billion 188 million 116 thousand dollars. Machine-made carpets were followed by tufted carpets (special design) with 483 million 15 thousand dollars, handmade carpets with 72 million 620 thousand dollars and rugs with 8 million 896 thousand dollars.
Most Carpet Exports to the USA
On a country basis, the US imported the most carpets from Turkey with 773 million 20 thousand dollars. Saudi Arabia with 269 million 858 thousand dollars, Iraq with 194 million 889 thousand dollars and England with 178 million 765 thousand dollars followed the USA. Last year, carpet exports to Saudi Arabia increased by 129 percent compared to the previous year.
Gaziantep ranked first in carpet exports with 1 billion 872 million 328 thousand dollars. The second province was Istanbul with 667 million 973 thousand dollars and the third was Uşak with 67 million 228 thousand dollars.
Drawing attention to the added value created by handmade carpets, Ahmet Hayri Diler, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Carpet Exporters’ Association (İHİB), said, “If the square meter price of a machine-made carpet is 67 dollars, that of a handmade carpet goes up to 300 dollars. The added value is very high. It is necessary to revitalize handmade carpets in Turkey.”
Sales of 400-500 thousand dollars are not recorded
Reminding that handmade carpet exports are around 73 million dollars in the records today, Diler said that the actual export figure is much higher. İHİB President Diler said, “Tourist sales and online sales are not reflected in the union records. We estimate that sales of 400- 500 thousand dollars cannot be recorded. With the registration, the figures will explode in an instant.” Stating that the demand for handmade carpets will increase even more as the trend for organic, natural and environmentally friendly products becomes widespread around the world, Diler said, “In parallel with this, artisans will become more prominent. If we catch the future from today, we can reveal our difference against competitors there.”
The carpet sector, which ranks 18th in Turkey’s exports, aims to increase its exports in 2024. Explaining that one of the most important works in 2024 will be to analyze the countries where they have experienced a decline in exports, Ahmet Hayri Diler said, “There are countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Russia, where carpet imports are increasing but our exports are decreasing. We will investigate why our share has fallen in these countries and what we need to do. We will organize delegations and focus on this a little bit in 2024.”
