Türkiye's apparel corridor — why the EU's nearest large supplier is losing share to factories twice as far away, and what the value-dense end of the market still buys.
Türkiye is the EU's third-largest extra-EU apparel supplier and its nearest large one. In 2025, textile and apparel exports fell ~4.4% to $26.2 billion; apparel fell ~6.4% to ~$16.8 billion, with a further 7.2% drop in Q1 2026 — a third straight year of decline. The puzzle isn't distance; it's the price floor. On Eurostat's Jan–Oct 2025 figures, EU apparel imports rose 6.7% from China and 9.6% from Bangladesh while falling 10.6% from Türkiye, whose EU apparel-import share slipped from 10.81% to 9.23% in a year.
Proximity didn't disappear — it stopped covering the price gap at the commodity end, as labour costs, the lira's real level and weak EU demand pushed buyers toward cheaper suppliers (Turkish firms are already repricing the base, with textile exports to Egypt reaching $567m in 2025). What Türkiye still defends is the value-dense end — faster turns, smaller batches, design input, compliance — shipping apparel at $21.3/kg against a $1.59 national average. The corridor advantage is real: a premium on a competitive base, not a substitute for one.