Azerbaijani textile may appear in European countries
By Rashid Shirinov
Azerbaijani textile producers are planning to enter the European markets, in particular the Baltic market, through the recently opened trading house in Latvia, head of the Textile Producers and Exporters Association and CEO of Gilan Textile Park Mehriban Akhundova told Trend on August 11.
“Certain work is already underway in this direction. Azerbaijani products are mainly exported to the CIS countries, Turkey, and currently some companies are already working to enter the European markets,” she said.
Akhundova added that the reduction in the prices for local goods and the creation of design companies are among the priorities for the development of the textile industry in Azerbaijan.
“In order for domestic textile products to seriously compete in the demand market, companies need to raise the level of marketing of the produced goods. Although today the quality of local goods is high enough, our products sometimes cannot compete with foreign goods due to the lack of appropriate design,” she said, adding that therefore Azerbaijan needs special design studios that would work on the design of local goods.
Akhundova noted that currently, textile products that come to the Azerbaijani market from abroad, namely China and Pakistan, are mainly made of mixed fabric, which contains a lot of polyester.
“This applies to both children’s and adults’ clothing, but due to the fact that the prices for these products are very cheap, most of the population prefers these foreign goods,” she said.
In contrast, the local products are mainly made from very high-quality fabric. If it is children’s clothing, it is 100 percent cotton, it is high-quality fabric made from the highest-quality combed yarn, Akhundova mentioned.
“This is one of the most expensive types of yarn in the world, as it is environmentally friendly. In fact, the only advantage of imported goods at the moment is the very low prices,” she added.
Presently Azerbaijan intends to strengthen its position in the textile production. Gilan Textile Park, which at present has the highest export potential in Azerbaijan, started its activity in 2012 in Sumgayit. The Park's products are made of high quality Azerbaijani cotton and meet European standards. The enterprise has weaving, paint and sewing factories.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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