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Published
May 5, 2020
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Turkish garment makers suffering as orders are cancelled says TGSD

Published
May 5, 2020

The ready-made garment industry in Turkey is suffering as retailers cancel orders in the face of the Covid-19 crisis, the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers' Association Board (TGSD) said this week.


Turkish manufacturers have been hit hard by order cancellations



The emerging threats to the global economy are already affecting the industry in Turkey as sudden store lockdowns have led to “a number of defensive measures which have severely harmed the garment manufacturing industry employing over 1.5 million people in Turkey,” we’re told. 

The TGSD has set up a Coronavirus Help Desk and said it has received “hundreds of messages expressing concerns and complaints” in the past four weeks.

It said complaints include a “large number of brands” telling manufacturers “that there will be no future orders until further notice,” leaving the factories to cover labour and overhead costs on their own for an unknown period. 

Some brands have also asked “for the suspension of production in the pipeline and in some rare cases, solicited discounts or cancellations for goods that are in the pipeline”.

Brands have also been asking for an extension on the payment terms for shipped goods that are on their way to distribution centres or already in stores.  

While much of the attention so far has been focused on the impact of order cancellations on Bangladesh, the problem is clearly widespread in manufacturing economies. And the TGSD also said: “A halt in high-volume production at the beginning of the season means that large quantity orders are creating massive inventories for the factories.” 

It added that “along with the inventory cost, manufacturers bear full liability for materials nominated by brands on their own, which constitutes an existential threat to companies most of which operate within one-digit margins.”

And it pointed out that retail businesses claiming to uphold "workers' rights” at all times and claiming “integrity, trust, commitment and sustainability” for their operations, are “contradicting their established core corporate values”. 

The TGSD also said that manufacturers acknowledge the difficulties faced by retailers but said that requested delay times need to be “reasonable [so] manufacturers may bridge the gap by benefiting from relief programs or monetary funds provided by the Turkish government”.

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