• Exporter Associations are sectoral entities which aim to develop trading capacity and the competitiveness of their member companies.
• Associations can be established on sectoral and regional basis.
• There are 59 Exporters’ Associations all over Turkey operating in 23 fields.
• Each Association has its own board of directors elected among the members.
• General Secretariats carry out the services of the Associations.

• ITKIB is the coordinator association of all textile, apparel, leather and carpet associations in Turkey, located in İzmir, Mersin, Bursa, Denizli, Gaziantep and Antalya.
• Regarding the number of members and the trade volume, the four associations under ITKIB umbrella are the most prominent ones.
• ITKIB has around 17.000 member companies with the export level of 15,1 bilion USD in 2006.
• In 2006, 17,6 % of the Turkish total export was realized by the members of ITKIB.
• In 2006, Turkey’s     Total export of apparel: 13,99 billion $

- share of ITKIB in total export: 77 %
Total export of textile : 5,57 billion $
- share of ITKIB in total export: 55 %
Total export of leather: 1,14 billion $
- share of ITKIB in total export: 83 %
Total export of carpet: 745 million $
- share of ITKIB in total export: 30%

ITKIB’s main functions can be described as assisting its members to improve their export performance, increasing market share of textile, apparel, leather and carpet exports of Turkey in international markets and protecting the common interests of these sectors at national and international level.

In order to realize these functions, ITKIB carries out the the following activities:

• Export Registration
• Trade Promotion and Development
• Economic Research and Reporting
• Consulting
• Coordination and Public Relations
• Training
• Publication

In line with the establishment protocol that regulates structure and functions of the associations,

• ITKIB registers exports and keep the statistics,
• The statistics and reports are used in decision-making processes to build up and steer future policies of the sectors.

• Members are guided and supported in participating in international fairs,
• Participation of members into more than 30 international fairs are organized annually,
• Trade delegations are arranged in abroad and delegations coming to Turkey are hosted to facilitate interaction between Turkish and foreign businessmen,
• Import and cooperation requests of foreign companies are conveyed to the members,
• The Young Designers Contest is held every year to promote creativity and fashion through young talents.
• An EU funded “Fashion and Textile Clustering Project” is carried out to increase the international competitiveness of the SME’s in textile and clothing sectors.
  

To improve decision-making process various reports are prepared and shared with related bodies. Main categories of these type of reports are as follows:

• Market research reports,
• Sub-sectoral reports,
• Country and product profiles,
• Quarterly export evaluation reports,
• News and Views Bulletin,
• Reports of the international relations.
• Reports on determination the policies at the international level,
• Sectoral cost analysis,
• Publicly accessable database.

CONSULTING
Some of the consulting services that ITKIB provides are as follows:

• Providing information about target markets,
• Offering practical advises to members on logistics, banking, customs regulations, payment terms, incoterms, insurance, EU, free trade agreements, free zones etc.,
• Informing its members about the trade regulations of Turkey and changes thereof,
• Providing information about trade practices of partner countries and changes thereof,
• Advising practical information on market access into the world markets.

• ITKIB acts as a bridge between private sector and the governmental bodies.
• contributes the development of the sectoral policies by the government,
• supports governmental bodies in their international relations,
• communicates and cooperates with other national and international organizations,
• acts as coordinator among all the textile and clothing organizations in Turkey.
• provides required reports and information and facilitates true information flow.

Among training activities the followings are noteworthy;

• Organizing seminars and courses on production and marketing,
• Contributing educational bodies and schools for skilled men power,
• Contributing to the curriculums in the schools,
• Publishing various books, directories and a periodical for updated and smooth information flow.
• ITKIB owns some technical or industrial high schools and departments in high schools in order to contribute training for the industry.

• Hedef: A monthly magazine distributed to the member companies. Written in Turkish with English abstracts,
• Educational materials: Books, booklets, leaflets etc.,
• Reports: various sectoral analysis, evaluations and statistical reports,
• E-Puclications: Most of our works are publicized on the web.