Trends in world textile and clothing trade

World textile and clothing trade increased by 6.2% to a record high of US$807 bn in 2018 following a 4.8% increase in the previous year. The increase in 2018 reflected a 6.0% rise in textile trade and a 6.3% rise in clothing trade. The USA continued to have a deficit in its textile and clothing trade. Furthermore, the deficit was up by 5.6% to US$107 bn, reflecting primarily an increase in clothing imports. The EU also continued to have a deficit in its textile and clothing trade, and this rose by 3.4% to US$81 bn. Japan’s textile and clothing trade deficit, meanwhile, rose by 8.4% to US$32 bn but it remained below the levels seen during 2011-14. Offsetting these deficits, China was the country with the world’s largest textile and clothing trade surplus, followed by India, Bangladesh, Turkey and Vietnam. The world’s largest textile exporter was China with a 38% share of world textile exports, followed by the EU, India, the USA, Turkey, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Pakistan and Hong Kong. The world’s largest textile importer was the EU with a 25% share of world textile imports, followed by the USA in second place with a 9% share—but China ranked as high as third with a share of 5%. Next in importance was Vietnam, followed by Bangladesh, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey. The world’s largest clothing exporter was China with a 32% share of world clothing exports, followed by the EU, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Turkey, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Cambodia and the USA. The world’s largest clothing importer was the EU with a 41% share of world clothing imports while the USA took 18% and Japan 6%. Next in importance was Hong Kong, followed by South Korea, Canada, China, Russia, Switzerland and Australia. But each of these seven importers had only a small share of world clothing imports. © Textiles Intelligence Limited 2019.