Uzbekistan Pitches Turkish Apparel Giants on Localized Production

A delegation from Uzbekistan's light industry agency met executives from eleven Turkish apparel, textile and footwear companies between November 1 and 4, in a pitch to move more finished-goods production into the Central Asian country. No contracts, investment amounts or capacity commitments were announced.

Rukhullo Zikrillaev, Deputy Director of the Agency for the Development of Light Industry under the Cabinet of Ministers, led the working visit, according to state news agency Dunyo. The talks targeted Turkish firms that buy or make garments, leather goods, footwear and components — categories where Uzbekistan wants to climb from raw cotton and fabric supply into cut-make-trim and finished exports.

Who was in the room?

The delegation held negotiations with brands and manufacturers including:

• LC Waikiki and DeFacto, two of Türkiye's largest volume apparel retailers
• Koton, Mavi, AVVA and adL (Adil Işık Group)
• Damat Tween (Orka Holding)
• Seamo, İslamoğlu Tekstil, Fermaş Fermuar (a zipper maker) and DoCotton Group

On the association side, the Uzbek officials met the Footwear Industrialists Association of Türkiye (TASD), the Turkish Footwear Industry Suppliers Association (AYSAD), the Istanbul Apparel Exporters' Association (İHKİB) and the footwear research body TASEV.

What was actually offered?

The Uzbek side presented its reform agenda for textile, garment, knitwear, leather and footwear industries. The briefing covered the investment climate, the country's raw material base and the incentives available to domestic and foreign manufacturers, according to the report.

The pitch centered on four propositions: localizing production in Uzbekistan, expanding industrial cooperation with foreign companies, implementing joint projects, and exporting finished products from Uzbekistan to third markets. That framing matters for sourcing teams — Uzbekistan has long positioned itself as a fiber and fabric origin, and the delegation explicitly pushed the value chain further downstream.

Interest, but no commitments

Dunyo reported that the presentation "generated significant interest among Turkish business circles." Company representatives, the agency said, expressed interest in establishing production capacity in Uzbekistan, building cooperative ties with local enterprises, developing joint projects and marketing finished goods in domestic and foreign markets.

That language describes intent, not deals. The report names no memorandum, no signed agreement, no investment figure and no timeline. For sourcing managers weighing Türkiye's own cost base against nearshoring alternatives, the absence of concrete terms — on utilities, labor availability or certified compliance capacity — leaves the commercial case untested.

Turkey is already a major investor in Uzbek textile processing, which gives the talks a plausible foundation. But a four-day delegation visit does not itself shift order books, and the source does not say which companies, if any, plan follow-up.

The next measurable signal will be whether any of the eleven named firms discloses a factory, joint venture or sourcing agreement in Uzbekistan in the coming quarters.