World textile exports rose from approximately $560 billion in 2006 to $914 billion in 2025, the ICAC publication said. Knit garment exports increased from $145.2 billion to $289.1 billion over the period, while woven garment exports rose from $158.5 billion to $257.7 billion.
Global knit and woven garment exports neared $550 billion in 2025, making up nearly 60 per cent of world textile exports.
China remained dominant, while Bangladesh rose to second and Vietnam to third among textile exporters.
Synthetic fibres are taking a larger share of garment growth, putting cotton quality and competitiveness higher on sourcing agendas.
The expansion has been accompanied by a major shift in global competitiveness. China remained the leading textile and garment exporter, but Bangladesh moved from 14th place among textile exporters in 2006 to second in 2025, while Vietnam advanced from 21st to third. China, Bangladesh and Vietnam together represented approximately 44 per cent of world textile exports in 2025, according to the ICAC.
On the import side, the ICAC publication said the US continued to be the largest textile importer, although its share of global imports declined from 18.9 per cent in 2006 to 13.7 per cent in 2025. More markets in Europe and Asia gained importance over the same period, pointing to a broader destination base for textile and apparel trade.
The report said cotton still holds some of the largest individual apparel product markets, including cotton T-shirts, cotton jerseys, and men’s and women’s cotton trousers and shorts. However, cotton’s share of global fibre demand fell from approximately 68.3 per cent in 1960 to 21.1 per cent in 2025, while synthetic fibres rose from 4.6 per cent to 71.7 per cent over the same period.
The fibre shift is visible in garment trade values. Cotton-based knit garment exports increased from approximately $69.9 billion in 2006 to $128.3 billion in 2025, but their share declined from 48.3 per cent to 44.5 per cent, according to the ICAC publication. Man-made and synthetic knit garment exports rose faster, from $35.6 billion to $99.2 billion, lifting their share from 24.6 per cent to 34.4 per cent. In woven garments, man-made and synthetic fibres overtook cotton in export value in 2021, the report said.
The ICAC publication said cotton remains embedded in the global garment economy, but its challenge is to strengthen competitiveness and capture a larger share of future growth.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JP)
