World textile & apparel trade dropped in 2019, says WTO

The value of the world textile trade decreased by 2.4 per cent year-on-year to $305 billion, while apparel trade dropped 0.4 per cent to $492 billion, according to the World Trade Statistical Review 2020, released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The US-China tariff war was among the reasons for contraction of textile and apparel trade.

The top three textile exporters — China, the EU-28, and India — together accounted for 66.9 per cent of the world textile exports in 2019. With an increase of 8.3 per cent year-on-year, Vietnam overtook Taiwan as the seventh-largest textile exporter. China's share increased to a record high 39.2 per cent in world textile exports, according to the WTO report.

The top four apparel exporters — China, the EU-28, Bangladesh, and Vietnam — together contributed 71.4 per cent to world apparel market share last year. However, China's share fell from 31.3 per cent in 2018 to 30.8 per cent last year, the WTO report showed.

In terms of textile imports, the top two importers — the US and the EU-28 — together accounted for 31.2 per cent of world textile imports in 2019. Vietnam emerged as the third largest textile importer.

The top three apparel importers — EU-28, the US, and Japan — together bought 58.1 per cent of world apparel in 2019.