CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK MAY CAUSE TO INCREASE COTTON PRODUCTION IN TURKEY...
The new coronavirus outbreak in China may lead global buyers to find new markets, especially in sectors such as textile, garments and steel, and Turkish businesses are one alternative. The outbreak, however, also may cause a decline in the country's exports to the Far East, such as natural stones of which China is the No. 1 buyer. According to a report by Turkey's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, COVID-19 will cause a possible shrinking of China's textile and garment industry – for a country that is a huge exporter for global brands – and this may drive those brands toward Turkey, increasing the importance of cotton growing in the country. The report by the ministry's Department for Agricultural Basins, which evaluated the effects of the new outbreak on the cotton sector, stressed that China had the biggest share in the overall fiber cotton imports during 2018 and 2019 which recorded nearly 9.3 million tons worldwide. Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan and Turkey had f...