AYSAD Press Meeting Before AYSAF
AYSAD (Association of Footwear Suppliers) hosted national press representatives at Venge Restaurant in Levent for a "AYSAF Press Meeting" held before the AYSAF Fair in November, a critical turning point for the national industry. The meeting, held on Thursday, October 23rd, shared the sector's alarming data for 2025 and its short- and medium-term plans for 2026-2027. AYSAD, the umbrella organization of the footwear suppliers sector, discussed its roadmap to close the $315 million gap in the footwear suppliers industry, its plan to increase the competitiveness of the sector against import pressure, and how the November fair will serve as a "bridge to salvation" in this crisis environment. This special luncheon meeting served as a crucial platform not only for the technical details of the fair but also for announcing to the public the future of this sector, which is raising alarm bells for Türkiye's production economy, and the concrete steps it will take. AYSAD President Sait Salıcı, in his speech highlighting that the sector has entered an "existential" period due to the inability to control imports and rising costs, shared the data for the first six months of 2025, stating, "Despite exporting $489.2 million in the first six months of 2025, the Turkish footwear sector recorded a historic record with imports of $804.3 million, resulting in a massive foreign trade deficit of $315 million. This enormous deficit is the most striking indicator of how much our country's footwear industry is struggling under the intense import pressure from Far Eastern countries such as China and Vietnam."
www.aysad.org