Value of the leading global textile exporters in 2021, by country

In 2021, China was the top ranked global textile exporter with a value of approximately 146 billion U.S. dollars. Textiles can refer to the materials used in clothing production, as well as the finished garments. At almost half the value of China, the European Union ranked in second place, with an export value of around 64 billion U.S. dollars. China’s export figures translate to almost 41.4 percent of the total textile export market worldwide.

What are the different types of textiles?

Textiles can be classified in several ways, including by their component fibers, the quality, and their value. The five main component fibers which textiles can be produced from are silk, wool, linen, cotton, and inorganic fibers. Before people learnt to weave these fibers into textiles to produce clothes, the first clothing items were most likely made up of animal skins. The industry today has been industrialized on such a scale that it is almost unrecognizable from its origins.

China’s textile industry

China is the largest textile producing and exporting country in the world. With its rapid growth over the last two decades, the Chinese textile industry has become one of the main pillars of the country’s economy. Clothes, clothing accessories, textile yarns and textile articles are amongst Chinas’s top export goods. Low cost and vast labor, reduced commercial barriers, and material supply availability are a few of the competitive advantages the country offers for the clothing manufacturing industry. Regarding material supply, for example, China is amongst the top three cotton producers worldwide. However, Chinese cloth production has decreased in recent years.