Imports of leathergoods and travel bags from the Far East are rising year on year. Most of the imports are made from China, according to the data from the office of the undersecretary of foreign trade. In 1997, Turkiye imported $6.9 million worth of leathergoods and bags. This increased to 14.1 million 1998 and 15.115 million in 1999. Total imports from Hong Kong were 1.487 million in 1997, 1.449 million in 1998 and 1.357 million in 1999. This represented 161 tons in 1997, 220 in 1998 and 142 tons in 1999.
There has been an extraordinary increase in imports made from South Korea, both in volume and monetary terms. In 1997, the values were six tons amounting to $119,000. By 1998 this had risen to 35 tons, equating to $541,000 while in 1999, 94 tons were imported at a value of $1.088 million.
