Competitiveness analysis of the world clothing industry: 1995-2018

In this study, which was prepared to analyze the competitiveness of the world clothing industry in the period 1995-2018, Balassa RCA index and Vollrath's competitiveness indices of the nine countries (People's Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong, Germany, USA, Italy, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Turkey) which have reached the highest export volumes at 10-year intervals in the said period has been calculated on the basis of three-digit product groups. As a result of the calculations, it has been determined that the PRC, Turkey, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Italy and Hong Kong have comparative advantage and competitiveness in the world clothing industry. Bangladesh is the country with the highest competitiveness among the leading countries in world clothing exports, and the country with the lowest competitiveness is Hong Kong. On the other hand, when Germany and the USA are compared with other countries within the scope of the study, it has been determined that there is no comparative advantage and competitiveness in the world clothing industry. As a result of the calculations made, it was determined that there was a significant decrease in the competitiveness of the Turkish clothing industry in the period of 1995-2018. İt is seen that the most important factor determining the competitiveness of countries is low-wage labor and low-cost production. This situation adversely affects the competitiveness of the Turkish clothing industry, whose labor wages are higher compared to Asian countries. In the chosen period, Turkey's competitiveness index values decreased significantly, in order to increase the competitiveness in the clothing industry of Turkey, it needs to invest in R&D activities, technological development, brand and original design, logistics, quality product production and efficiency.