Global Apparel and Textiles Trade: Exports, Top Suppliers and Importers

This report uses WTO merchandise trade statistics to describe the global trade in clothing and textiles. The WTO separates the two: textiles (yarn, fabrics and made-up articles) and clothing (finished garments).

In 2022 world exports of clothing were USD 576 billion and world exports of textiles were USD 339 billion [1]. Together that is about USD 915 billion of traded textile and clothing goods (FREEE.REPORT calculation). For comparison, world exports of chemicals were USD 3,010 billion and office and telecom equipment USD 2,512 billion in the same year [1].

China was the largest clothing exporter in 2022 at USD 182 billion, or 31.7% of world exports [1]. The European Union followed at USD 156 billion (27.1%), but most of this is trade between EU members; extra-EU exports were USD 45 billion [1].

• Bangladesh: USD 45 billion, 7.9% share, exports up 27% in 2022 [1]
• Viet Nam: USD 35 billion, 6.1% share, up 13% in 2022 [1]
• Türkiye: USD 20 billion, 3.5% share [1]
• India: USD 18 billion, 3.1% share [1]
• Indonesia: USD 10 billion; Cambodia and Pakistan USD 9 billion each [1]

The top four suppliers (China, EU, Bangladesh, Viet Nam) held about 72.8% of world clothing exports in 2022 (FREEE.REPORT calculation from WTO shares) [1].

China's share of world clothing exports rose from 18.2% in 2000 to 26.6% in 2005 and 36.6% in 2010, then fell to 31.7% in 2022 [1]. Over the same period Bangladesh's share rose from 2.6% in 2000 to 7.9% in 2022, and Viet Nam's from 0.9% to 6.1% [1]. Bangladesh and Viet Nam both grew clothing exports by an average of 10-11% per year between 2010 and 2022, against 3% for China [1].

China dominates textile exports more than clothing. It exported USD 148 billion of textiles in 2022, 43.6% of the world total [1]. The EU exported USD 71 billion (21.1%), India USD 19 billion (5.7%), Türkiye USD 15 billion (4.3%), the United States USD 14 billion (4.1%) and Viet Nam USD 11 billion (3.2%) [1].

Garment-making economies are also large textile buyers. Viet Nam imported USD 19 billion of textiles and Bangladesh USD 15 billion in 2022 [1]. A WTO value chain profile notes that China and India produce cotton and synthetic fibres, while Bangladesh and Viet Nam focus on garment manufacturing [2].

The European Union imported USD 215 billion of clothing in 2022 (35.5% of world imports), of which USD 111 billion came from outside the EU [1]. The United States imported USD 116 billion (19.2%) [1]. Japan (USD 27 billion) and the United Kingdom (USD 26 billion) were the next largest importers [1].

Figures come from the WTO World Trade Statistical Review 2023, statistical tables on the top 10 exporters and importers of textiles (SITC division 65) and clothing (SITC division 84), in current USD billion for 2022 [1]. Some Asian values are WTO Secretariat estimates, and China's figures include significant shipments through processing zones [1]. EU totals include intra-EU trade. Combined textile and clothing value and the top-four share are FREEE.REPORT calculations that add the WTO values and shares. More recent WTO editions were not reviewed for this report, so 2022 is the latest year shown.