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Turkey : Chiese imports drives domestic silk carpet weaving industry to ''knots'' |
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2004-7-30
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Turkish hand-made silk carpet weaving bore the brunt of machine-made silk carpet imports from China on the negative side. This was informed by Asaf Mehmetbeyoglu, the Deputy Chairman of Kayseri Chamber of Commerce and a silk carpet dealer, on Wednesday last.
Mehmetbeyoglu said that 100,000 square meters of silk carpet used to be woven in central Kayseri province 10-15 years ago, but this number decreased below 5,000 square meters due to recent silk carpet imports from China.
Silk carpets imported from China were machine-made and not of high-quality, Mehmetbeyoglu added.
He said, ''''China is copying Turkish designs in its silk carpets. Chinese carpets are imported in Turkey as textile products. Sometimes, they are smuggled to our country. Most of these carpets are machine-made, and the quality is not as good as Turkish hand-made silk carpets. But, labor force and input costs are very cheap in China. Therefore, Turkish hand-made silk carpets can''t compete with these cheap Chinese carpets. Turkish silk carpet weaving craftsmanship is now facing the danger of extinction. Domestic weavers have quitted their business since cheap China-made carpets are preferred.''''
Asaf Mehmetbeyoglu said that had not hope for the carpet weavers to recover, although Turkish Foreign Trade Undersecretary''s Office said it had taken measures against imports from China.
Hand-made silk carpet sales were affected negatively as foreign tourists visiting Turkey did not buy any of these carpets, Mehmetbeyoglu stated.
He called for support from big hotels hosting rich tourists to boost silk carpet weaving, which is an important source of income for the rural area.
''''Tourists staying in these hotels should be taken to not only carpet villages but also other carpet shops in our region,” said Mehmetbeyoglu. |
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