By Addis Getachew
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Over 200 manufacturers and exporters from 26 countries, including Turkey, exhibited their products and services at Africa fashion week opened in the capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday.
Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week is the continent's main trade show for the textile, apparel and technology industry.
Turkey, Bangladesh, Belgium, China,Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Rwanda, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, the U.K. and the U.S. participated in the exhibition.
The event is organized by Trade and Fairs East Africa Ltd., Europe’s leading show organizers; and Trade and Fairs Consulting, a Germany-based exhibition and conference organizing company.
With a theme “sustainability in fashion”, the week brought together over 70 Asian manufacturers of textile and fabrics and further 60 exhibitors in the apparel sector.
Opening the event, Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome said his country has been making strides in the manufacturing sector to date with its “increased industrial output and wide market base.”
He said value adding private sector is considered the engine of manufacturing sector particularly in the textiles and apparel development.
Turkish exporters, including Delta Print, OLA textiles and Ayhan Denizci, participated in the fashion week.
“I have an agent in Ethiopia to sell my products including high quality bed sheets, curtains and some leather products,” Denizci told Anadolu Agency.
According to him, high taxes on imports could curtain what should have been a lucrative business market available in the country.
Nihat Sarici of Delta Print said he found out the paints that he brought from Turkey for purpose of printing shirts and other clothing were superior in quality compared to those from other countries.