OEM turtleneck and mock turtleneck sweaters from our Gaziantep flat-knit factory for Tanzanian brands and importers — extra-fine merino, cashmere blends, flat-knit and WHOLEGARMENT seamless, shipped to Dar es Salaam. The neck detail done right, from the collar construction to the finished hand.
The turtleneck is a wardrobe staple that lives and dies by the collar. Too short and it doesn't fold properly; too stiff and it doesn't sit; too scratchy and the customer returns it. We produce turtleneck and mock-turtleneck sweaters with collar proportions that are spec'd correctly from the tech pack stage — the fold-height, the rib tension, the seam or seam-free construction — so the finished garment wears the way the customer expects. For Tanzanian brands building a premium knit range, the collar is exactly the detail that separates a credible label from a market-stall import. See our OEM knitwear manufacturing overview for the full production model.
Full rollneck (fold-over, 10–15cm), mock turtleneck (standing, 5–8cm), polo neck (structured longer fold). All in rib — 1×1, 2×2, 3×3 depending on collar hand and structure required.
Integral seamless collar with no neck-seam — the cleanest construction for a fine-gauge turtleneck. Knitted on our 15 Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT machines at 12gg and 14gg in merino and cashmere blends.
Extra-fine merino, cashmere-merino blend, cashmere-modal, cotton (for lighter-weight turtlenecks). We'll recommend the fibre based on gauge and your retail price-point in Tanzania.
7gg for structured mid-weight, 10–12gg for fine knit layering, 14gg for ultra-fine. Plain, rib body or textured-body turtlenecks all available across our 15 Shima Seiki and 7 Stoll flat-knit machines.
The most common quality complaint on turtleneck sweaters is the neck seam — a bulk point where the collar meets the body, especially noticeable in fine-gauge pieces. WHOLEGARMENT knitting eliminates this: the collar and body are knitted as one continuous piece on a Shima Seiki machine, with no seam, no linking join, no weak point. The collar folds or stands cleanly with natural tension and no bulk.
For a Tanzanian brand positioning above the bulk-import segment, a WHOLEGARMENT turtleneck in extra-fine merino or cashmere blend is one of the strongest value propositions you can put in a label — quality customers can feel the difference and it reduces return rates. It is also where Turkey earns its place: we cannot beat Chinese pricing into Dar es Salaam, but we can deliver a level of construction and an English-language working relationship that justifies a premium tier. More on that across our knit categories.
On the technical side, we engineer each turtleneck from the tech pack: the collar fold-line is set by the rib structure and tension rather than left to chance, the body-to-collar transition is graded so the neck opening matches the wearer without gaping, and every shade is knitted, washed and pressed to an agreed spec before bulk runs. With an MOQ of 250 pieces per colour, per size across our in-house flat-knit floor — 15 Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT machines and 7 Stoll machines — a Tanzanian label can launch a focused capsule of turtlenecks and mock-necks without committing to the container volumes that bulk Chinese suppliers typically demand. That is the practical meaning of China+1 for an importer at Dar es Salaam: smaller, sharper, premium runs you can actually sell through.
We believe in being straight with importers. There is no Turkey–Tanzania free trade agreement. Turkish-made knitwear enters under the EAC Common External Tariff — generally 25% on knitted garments — plus 18% VAT, the same duty framework a Chinese shipment faces. So there is no tariff advantage over China, and we will never pretend otherwise.
What is genuinely distinctive about importing through Tanzania is structural, not tariff-based: your own deep-water gateway at the Port of Dar es Salaam, and Tanzania's dual membership of both the EAC and SADC — a single base that opens onto both East and Southern African markets. Tanzania is also a cotton-growing country, so a premium imported turtleneck programme complements local production rather than competing on basics. Goods clear through TBS (Tanzania Bureau of Standards) for conformity and TRA for duty and VAT, priced in TZS. From Mersin, transit to Dar es Salaam runs roughly 20–28 days. We plan around these realities with you rather than selling a discount that doesn't exist.
| Style | Gauge | Indicative FOB |
|---|---|---|
| Mock turtleneck, extra-fine merino | 12gg | $30–42 |
| Rollneck turtleneck, extra-fine merino | 12gg | $32–45 |
| WHOLEGARMENT turtleneck, merino | 12gg | $42–58 |
| Cashmere-merino blend turtleneck | 12–14gg | $55–85 |
Indicative FOB Mersin at 250–500 pcs MOQ. Figures are ex-works of EAC duty (≈25%), 18% VAT and Dar es Salaam clearance, which are assessed by TRA on landing in TZS.
Send a tech pack or reference style. We'll spec the collar construction, recommend fibre and gauge, and return indicative pricing within one business day — with realistic Mersin-to-Dar es Salaam lead times and TBS/TRA notes built in.
A turtleneck (also called a rollneck or polo neck) has a long collar that folds over, typically 10–15cm finished height with fold-over. A mock turtleneck has a shorter, non-fold collar (typically 5–8cm) that stands on its own. In flat-knit production, both are knitted as extended rib sections on the same machine — the difference is collar length and whether a seam or fold-line is required. WHOLEGARMENT eliminates seams entirely for both styles.
No. There is no free trade agreement between Turkey and Tanzania, so Turkish-made turtleneck sweaters enter under the East African Community (EAC) Common External Tariff — generally 25% on knitted garments — plus 18% VAT, the same framework that applies to Chinese imports. We do not have a tariff advantage over China into Tanzania. What we offer instead is quality, WHOLEGARMENT seamless construction, English-language B2B service and a credible China+1 alternative, with goods cleared through TBS and TRA at Dar es Salaam.
Once goods are imported and cleared at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's dual membership of both the EAC and SADC gives a Tanzanian importer access to East and Southern African markets from a single base. We supply the OEM turtleneck programme to your Tanzanian entity; onward regional distribution and any preferential origin claims within SADC or EAC are handled on your side with the appropriate documentation through TBS and TRA.