EİB to Organize National Participation in 17 Trade Fairs across 7 Countries in 2025

Foreks - International fairs, which create a significant groundwork for export agreements in international trade, are set to bring exporters and importers together in 2025. Aegean exporters, aiming to contribute $50 billion to Turkey's annual exports in 2025, will attend 17 fairs with national participation organizing led by the Aegean Exporters Associations.

Jak Eskinazi, Coordinator President of the Aegean Exporters Associations, stated that they wrapped up 2024 with 13 national participation organizations and have now started preparations to raise the number of fairs with national participation to 17 in 2025. Eskinazi mentioned, "According to Turkey's Medium Term Stability Program, a target of $279.6 billion exports is set for 2025. We must conduct intense marketing efforts to reach this goal. As an organization authorized by our Ministry of Trade as an A-class fair organizer, we have structured our program for the participation of our exporters in 17 fairs in Germany, Australia, France, Italy, the United States, China, and Japan. We will work to ensure that the contribution of the Aegean Region to Turkey's exports reaches $50 billion in 2025 through fairs in the food, footwear, leather goods, ready-to-wear, natural stone, furniture, and both general and organic sectors."

Providing information about newly added fairs to the 2025 calendar, Eskinazi continued, "While continuing to organize our existing fairs in 2025, we will have national participation in the MIPEL Leather Goods Fair to be held in Milan, Italy in February and September, the NeoCon Furniture Fair in the USA, the 9th China-Eurasia Expo, and the Fine Food Australia 2025 Fair. Additionally, all our associations are planning to facilitate connections between our exporters and importers with an intensive sectoral trade delegation and purchasing delegation program."

The fair marathon will kick off with the footwear and leather goods sectors. Erkan Zandar, the Chairman of the Aegean Leather and Leather Products Exporters Union, expressed that they have planned robust participation for Turkish footwear and leather goods exporters at the Expo Riva Schuh & Garda Bags Fair, continuing a long-standing tradition into 2025. Zandar shared that they will participate with 35 companies from January 11-14, 2025, at the Expo Riva Schuh & Garda Bags Fair, stating, "We faced a very challenging 2024 due to recession in export markets and rising costs in Turkey. In 2025, we want to leverage fairs to heal our wounds. Using the opportunities offered by digitization, we will present our collections for the 2025/26 winter season to importers through a virtual reality project named 'See Standing' and aim to return home with new orders."

The second meeting date of the Expo Riva Schuh & Garda Bags Fair in 2025 will be from June 14-17. The Aegean Leather and Leather Products Exporters Union has also rolled up its sleeves to organize national participation for the MIPEL Leather Goods Fair, which will take place in Milan, Italy from February 23-25, 2025. The Turkish leather goods sector will also participate in the second leg of the MIPEL Leather Goods Fair on September 23-25, 2025.

The ready-to-wear and confectionery sector is set to see recovery in 2025, as the Aegean Ready-to-Wear and Confectionery Exporters Union prepares to launch into its major export markets, Germany and France, in January and February 2025. Following the Munich Fabric Start the Source Fair on January 21-22, 2025, the Premiere Vision Manufacturing Fair in Paris will take place from February 11-13, 2025. The EHKİB is preparing for national participation in these two fairs once again in September 2025.

Highlighting the interest rate reduction decisions in the UK and the European Union, Burak Sertbaş, President of the Aegean Ready-to-Wear and Confectionery Exporters Union, stated that "Signals have been given that interest rate cuts will continue in 2025 as well. In terms of future expectations, we hope that the global economy will continue to see interest rate reductions and that it will recover by June 2025. Therefore, from the second half of 2025 onwards, we anticipate an increase in purchasing appetite among our customers and a rise in demand. I believe the impact of this recovery on orders and exports will be seen in 2026. To gain a larger share from export markets in the second half of 2025 and in 2026, we need to maintain our communication with our customers. We invite our ready-to-wear and confectionery exporters to secure their positions at the fairs in our largest export markets, Germany and France."

The Turkish organic sector is set to make its mark in Germany and the USA. The Aegean Exporters Associations, appointed as the coordinating union by the Ministry of Trade for the organic sector, will bring Turkish exporters together with organic buyers from around the world at the BioFach 2025 Organic Products Fair in Nuremberg, Germany from February 11-14, 2025. Emphasizing that they have successfully conducted the national participation organization for the BioFach Organic Products Fair for 30 years, Mehmet Ali Işık, Coordinator for Organic Products and Sustainability and President of the Aegean Dried Fruits and Products Exporters Union, highlighted that the Turkish organic sector has reached an annual export capacity of over $1 billion due to commercial agreements made at the BioFach Fair. Işık added, "In 2025, we will be participating with 16 companies as the Turkish organic sector at the BioFach Fair. We are preparing to participate more robustly in the Natural Products Expo West Fair, where we made our first appearance in 2024. The fair, held in California from March 5-7, 2025, will provide Turkish food and organic product exporters with a platform for new export connections. We are expecting the Turkish organic sector at both fairs.”

Turkish natural stones will be showcased in China. Being one of the top three countries in natural stone exports, Turkey sees natural stone fairs as an opportunity to maintain its strong position in export markets and increase its exports. Ibrahim Alimoğlu, President of the Aegean Mining Exporters Union, stated that they will present a variety of 150 types and 650 colors of Turkish stones to architects, designers, and contractors from around the world at the Xiamen Natural Stone and Technologies Fair in China from March 16-19, 2025, emphasizing, "We will hold a visual show with Turkish natural stones at the A6 stand, which is the heart of the fair."

The Turkish furniture sector will participate in the NeoCon Show in the USA for the first time. The Aegean Furniture, Paper, and Forest Products Exporters Union, which strengthened its position in markets like India, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia with sectoral trade delegations in 2024, decided to elevate its marketing efforts by organizing national participation for Turkey at the NeoCon Show in the United States in 2025. Ali Fuat Gürle, President of the Aegean Furniture, Paper, and Forest Products Exporters Union, mentioned that the United States is a colossal market importing $80 billion worth of furniture annually, expressing their goal to increase their current exports of around $300 million to $1 billion, inviting all furniture exporting firms wanting a share of this export to join the NeoCon Show from June 9-11, 2025.

Food exporters are heading to Foodex Japan, New York Fancy Food, and Fine Food Australia. The Aegean Exporters Associations have been carrying out the national participation organization for Japan's largest food fair, Foodex Japan, for over a quarter of a century. Hayrettin Uçak, Vice Coordinator President of the Aegean Exporters Associations and President of the Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Union, stated that as the Turkish food sector, they have set an annual export target of $1 billion to Japan, a country importing $75 billion worth of food products, emphasizing the essential role of the Foodex Japan Fair to achieve this target. Uçak noted, “We will host tasting events showcasing the flavors produced in the 7 regions of Anatolia from March 7-11, 2025, at the Foodex Fair in Japan to increase the market share of Turkish food products. To contribute to our goal of $5 billion in food exports to the USA, we will be participating in the New York Fancy Food Show from June 29 to July 1, 2025. We have been running the TURQUALITY project named Turkish Tastes for five years to increase food exports to the USA. During this five-year period, we have seen a 100% increase in food exports to the USA. We believe that our TURQUALITY Project will further accelerate our food exports to the USA in the future. We invite our food exporters to participate in the food fairs we will organize in Japan and the USA. In 2025, we will carry out our first national participation organization at the Fine Food Australia Fair from September 8-11, 2025, aiming to strengthen the position of Turkish food products in the Australian market."

The number of fairs in China will increase to three. One of the fairs for which the Aegean Exporters Associations will conduct national participation organization for the first time in 2024 is the 9th China-Eurasia Expo Fair held in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. The EIB aims to facilitate access for Turkish export products to China's western regions by participating in this fair. The last part of the 18 national participation organizations that EIB will hold in 2025 will be the China International Import Expo, which will take place from November 5-10, 2025. By organizing national participation at the China International Import Expo, which is held to demonstrate China's role as a strong importing country to the world, the Aegean Exporters Associations will strive to reduce Turkey's annual foreign trade deficit of over $40 billion with China.