Bringing together visitors from all over the world, Evteks Istanbul International Home Textile Fair is being held for the 20th time. The fair, which is being held at CNR EXPO Istanbul between 21st-25th May, was opened with the participation of Nihat Zeybekçi, Economy Minister, Mehmet Büyükekşi, President of Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Ceyda Erem, Chairperson of CNR Holding, Yaşar Küçükçalık, President of Association of Turkish Home Textile Industrialists and Businessmen (TETSIAD), Cem Şenel, CEO of CNR Holding Fair Organization Group.
Speaking during the opening of the fair, the Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi emphasised that only the international fairs held overseas had received support up to now, and that they will provide support to 10 local export-oriented fairs including Evteks.
Stating that the sector reached to the position where it is now by working passively as a contract manufacturer, Nihat said that Turkey will become more effective and make its raw material and energy sustainable.
Explaining the progress of Turkey for the past 10 years in economy and export with examples and figures, Zeybekçi pointed out that Turkey has become the 15th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity.
Expressing that thousands of people were visiting the fair, TIM president Mehmet Büyükekşi said that fairs like the ones held in Germany which were once envied are now held in Turkey. Büyükekşi said that the way to achieve the target figures in export set by Turkey and the sector, which has so far reached to $3b with a 10% increase in the first quarter of 2014, is to manufacture innovative products with higher added value.
Underlining that the sector is a major representative of employment in Turkey, TETSIAD President Yaşar Küçükçalık said that Evteks has grown 100 times over the past 20 years.
CNR Holding Fair Organization Group CEO Cem Şenel, stated that Evteks has had a major contribution to the economy in Istanbul: "Evteks provides a contribution of $1.5b to our home textile export therefore strengthens the economy in Istanbul. Foreign tourists visiting Evteks spend 3 times more money."
Emphasizing that Evteks was held on a 160,000 gross square meter area, Şenel said that they are expecting delegations of buyers from 50 different countries. Şenel said that the countries visiting the fair under the organization of Uludağ Textile Exporters Association (UTIB) included USA, Tunisia, France, England, Canada, Iran and China.
Evteks, where the latest developments, trends and leading products in the textile sector are exhibited, is organised by Association of Turkish Home Textile Industrialists and Businessmen (TETSIAD) and Istanbul Fair Organization, an affiliated company of CNR Holding.
