Turkiye's Footwear Exports Plunge 22.7% as Global Ranking Slips to 10th

Turkiye’s footwear exports fell 22.7% to 184 million pairs in 2025, pushing the country from 6th to 10th globally. Production also declined 14.1% to 391 million pairs, highlighting the need to strengthen competitiveness and regain global market share.

Turkiye's footwear industry is losing ground in global trade, with exports falling sharply in 2025 and the country dropping from sixth to 10th place among the world's leading footwear exporters.

Data from the World Footwear Yearbook 2026, published by the Portuguese Association of Footwear, Components and Leather Products Manufacturers (APICCAPS), shows that Turkiye exported 184 million pairs in 2025, compared with 238 million pairs in 2024. The 54-million-pair decline represents a 22.7% drop in one year.

Turkiye's share of global footwear exports fell from 1.6% to 1.2%, while Italy overtook the country with exports of 205 million pairs, pushing Turkiye to the bottom of the top 10, according to Turkish outlet Ekonomim's reporting on the Yearbook.

China remained the world's largest footwear exporter, shipping 9 billion pairs and holding a 61.2% share, followed by Vietnam and Indonesia. Together, the top 10 exporters accounted for 88% of global footwear exports by volume in 2025.

Trade decline outpaces the global market

The export decline is particularly significant because global footwear trade remained broadly stable in 2025. Worldwide footwear exports fell only 0.1% in volume, while their total value increased 1.6% to $172 billion. The average global export price also rose to $11.65 per pair.

Turkiye's downturn stands in sharp contrast to this global stability: while the world market barely moved, Turkiye's export volume contracted by nearly a quarter in a single year, evidence that the country lost market share rather than being swept along by a broader downturn.

Production and domestic market also weaken

Turkiye's production followed a similar downward trend. The country produced 391 million pairs in 2025, down from 455 million pairs in 2024. This represents a 14.1% decline and reduced Turkiye's share of global footwear production from 1.9% to 1.6%.

The longer-term decline is also clear. Turkiye produced around 582 million pairs in 2022, meaning production has fallen by about 191 million pairs, or 33%, over three years. Despite the contraction, Turkiye remained the world's eighth-largest footwear producer in 2025.

The domestic market also weakened. Footwear consumption declined from around 294 million pairs in 2024 to 283 million pairs in 2025, a fall of about 3.7%. Turkiye ranked as the world's 15th largest footwear market by consumption.

Outlook

The latest APICCAPS data highlights the scale of the challenge facing Turkiye's footwear sector. With global demand and trade remaining relatively stable, restoring export competitiveness and strengthening the value of Turkish footwear will be important if the country is to regain lost ground in the international market.

(Source: World Footwear Yearbook 2026, APICCAPS; Turkiye-specific figures as reported by Ekonomim)