Trends in world textile and clothing trade

World textile and clothing trade declined by 0.9% to US$799 bn in 2019—the latest year for which comprehensive data are available. However, it was still at its second highest level on record as the decline followed increases of 6.1% in 2018 and 4.7% in 2017. The decline in 2019 reflected a 2.2% fall in textile trade and a marginal 0.1% fall in clothing trade. The USA continued to have a deficit in its textile and clothing trade. Furthermore, the deficit, at US$108 bn, was up compared with the previous year, albeit by only 0.4%. The rise reflected primarily a fall in textile exports and an increase in clothing imports. The EU also continued to have a deficit in its textile and clothing trade, although this was down by 2.0% to US$68 bn. Japan’s textile and clothing trade deficit, meanwhile, was down by 1.8% to US$31 bn but it remained above the levels seen during 2015-17. Offsetting these deficits, China was the country with the world’s largest textile and clothing trade surplus, followed by India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Turkey. The world’s largest textile exporter was China with a 39% share of world textile exports, followed by the EU, India, the USA, Turkey, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Pakistan and Japan. The world’s largest textile importer was the EU with a 23% share of world textile imports, followed by the USA in second place with a 9% share. Next in importance was Vietnam, followed by China, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, Mexico and Hong Kong. The world’s largest clothing exporter was China with a 31% share of world clothing exports, followed by the EU, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Turkey, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Cambodia and Pakistan. The world’s largest clothing importer was the EU with a 39% share of world clothing imports while the USA took 18% and Japan 6%. Next in importance was Hong Kong, followed by Canada, South Korea, China, Russia, Switzerland and Australia. But each of these seven importers had only a small share of world clothing imports. © Textiles Intelligence Limited 2021.