Turkey in focus at APLF 2016
30/03/2016
At a press conference on the opening morning of the event, the president of the Turkish Leather Foundation, Ruken Mizrakli (pictured), explained that Turkey’s leather manufacturing traditions date back to the fifteenth century and that it currently has 14 special leather manufacturing zones. These include the cluster at Tuzla, which she described as the biggest leather industrial zone in Europe.
Turkish tanners and finished leather-related products exporters ship to customers in 195 countries at the moment, Ms Mizrakli said, with 38% of exports by value going to the European Union and 21% to Russia and other parts of eastern Europe. She said there are 556 tanneries in Turkey at present, employing a total of 11,600 people.
She said the industry in Turkey has a target to expand export values from $1.5 billion in 2015 to $5.2 billion in 2023.
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