Turkish Textile Companies Collapse in Masses
As a hub connecting Asia and Europe, Turkey's textile industry has long been a pillar of the economy, but it is now facing unprecedented challenges.
Data shows that since 2025, over 300 textile and garment companies in Turkey have filed for bankruptcy protection, resulting in a loss of more than 300,000 jobs in the sector over the past two years. Industry insiders generally believe that this round of adjustments has exceeded short-term cyclical fluctuations and exhibits significant structural characteristics.
According to Turkish media reports, in major textile-producing regions such as Istanbul, Denizli, Bursa, Gaziantep, and Kahramanmaraş, many factories have already ceased production or reduced their operating rates to 30% to 40% of normal levels. Exports, a crucial pillar of the industry, continue to be under pressure, with weak demand in the European market coupled with rising raw material and energy costs constraining business operations.
Official data shows that as of November 2025, Turkey's textile exports totaled approximately $8.6 billion, and garment exports totaled approximately $15.5 billion, for a combined $24.1 billion. While still among the country's major export sectors, this represents a decrease of approximately 23.6% compared to the historical high of $31.56 billion in the same period of 2022.
Vietnam's Textile Industry Faces Pressure and Adjustment
Not only Turkey, but even Vietnam, a rising textile power, faced significant pressure in 2025.
According to Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association, amidst multiple challenges in the global market, Vietnam's textile and garment industry achieved exports of $46 billion in 2025. Although slightly below the original target of $48 billion, this represents a 5.6% increase over the previous year, further solidifying its position among the top three in the global textile supply chain.
Vu Duc Giang pointed out that 2025 will be the most difficult year for Vietnam's textile and garment industry in recent decades. Global supply chains remain disrupted, logistics costs remain high, and increasingly stringent requirements from international brand clients, coupled with rapid adjustments to procurement strategies in major markets, forcing companies to maintain a constant state of dynamic adaptation and strategic adjustment.
The global market is undergoing a profound reshuffle.
Both Turkey and Vietnam, emerging textile powerhouses that have attracted significant foreign investment in recent years, inevitably faced crises in their textile export businesses in 2025.
On the other hand, according to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, in US dollar terms, my country's cumulative textile and apparel exports remained relatively stable from January to December 2025, with a total export value of US$293.77 billion, a 2.4% decrease compared to 2024.
Whether it's established players like China or emerging players like Vietnam and Turkey, the textile industry is under pressure. This reflects the significant impact of the traditional European and American textile markets on the market due to economic downturns, leading to a continuous decrease in existing demand. On the other hand, both domestically and internationally, the past few years have seen a period of rapid growth in textile production capacity. The global textile market has entered a phase of competition for existing market share, and excess capacity is inevitably being cleared out.
The unavoidable choice behind geopolitical risks: The global textile industry shares certain similarities with China's textile industry in recent years. The rapid growth in loom production starting in 2023 was due to two factors: firstly, market demand gradually recovered as the global economy recovered from the pandemic; secondly, some regions offered relatively favorable conditions, giving their textile industries a comparative advantage and attracting a large amount of production capacity. However, how to absorb this new capacity has become a major problem.
The global textile trade is now showing signs of deglobalization. Trade barriers, rare in the past few decades, are becoming increasingly common. People are unsure where tariffs will suddenly be imposed, where trade protectionism will be implemented, or where shipping routes will be disrupted by war. As a result, Chinese textile companies have significantly accelerated their overseas expansion in recent years, increasing investment in Egypt, South Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. While this may mitigate many policy risks, a global perspective reveals that total demand growth is slowing while total production capacity is increasing, making the reshuffling of the global textile industry even more severe.
However, from another perspective, this is unavoidable, especially after entering 2026. Less than a month into the year, Venezuela and Iran have experienced incidents, indicating a turbulent world. Diversifying investments is the optimal solution among various options, but the resulting supply-demand mismatch is a consequence the industry must bear.
