At a conference in Istanbul, the Chairman of the Istanbul Textile and Ready-Wear Exporters Unions (ITKIB), Suleyman Orakcioglu stated that the country has the capability to hold lion''s share of the organic textile and clothing sector in the coming decade, as at present it is producing about half of the world''s organic total cotton output.

The conference was organized by the ITKIB to announce the Organic Exchange Conference and Marketplace Conference, to be held during September 26-28 in Izmir.

The organic textiles and clothing could be a main opportunity in providing Turkey a fine showcase and brand while the textile and clothing sector has been losing its workforce and its power, said Orakcioglu.

Since 2002, the organic cotton market has been growing at double digit rates and currently, touched $500 million in sales on a world-wide scale. It is anticipated that the market will reach to $2 billion by 2010, he added.

Substantial cotton buyers like Marks & Spencer, Ikea and Wal-Mart intends to increase this ratio to ten percent by 2013 and Turkey could cater the market benefiting from its existing textile and clothing infrastructure, said Orakcioglu.

He also said that Turkey could re-organize its textile and clothing industries via organic products.