The Turkish leather industry has proven its quality and gained an advantage over many other leather-producing countries. The industry constitutes 2.5 percent of total industrial production in Turkey, 1.5 percent of employment and 1.2 percent of total industrial exports of Turkey. The leather industry’s export target is $5 billion per annum.

The chairman of the Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Union (IDMIB), Lemi Tolunay, made these comments to a Sunday newspaper on April 20. He said he aimed to carry the Turkish leather industry to "a better place" among global competitors.

He pointed out that the leather industry in Turkey employs 225,000 people and drew a comparison with the automotive industry, which is worth much more to the country's economy but only employs 155,000. “The leather industry is also significant in macroeconomic terms,” he said.

Mr Tolunay said leather producing countries in Asia posed "no threat to Turkey" because, in his view, the leather they produce is of a lower quality than Turkey's. This, he said, ought to allow the industry there to consolidate its place in the global market.

To help it overcome its problem of lack of brand recognition, he said the industry in Turkey was organising a special exhibition of its products in New York.