Textile and Clothing Export Trends 2009-2013:

Is China giving space to rest of the world?

Dr. Muhammad Mushtaq Mangat

Abstract

The international textile and clothing exports were US $ 527 billion in 2009 and US $

766 billion in 2013. 45.6 % growth was observed during the last five years. If the

growth continued, it is expected that in 2016, it would exceed US $ 1,000 billion. For

many years, experts had been discussing the future role of China in textile and

clothing industries. Most popular opinion was that China was increasingly leaving the

textile and clothing industries and moving on to hi-tech products. This study shows

that the data issued by WTO does not support this opinion. Data shows that China is

continuously increasing its share in the international market and it is not providing

space to rest of the world. In 2009, China had 41.1% share in clothing and in 2013,

share of China1was 44.5%. After China, Italy was next in clothing exports with only

6.21% and 5.11% shares in 2009 and 2013 respectively. This shows the tilt of the data

and huge gap between top two exporters. Current trends prove that China is not giving

any space to the rest of the world and gap will increase every year in spite of

increasing wages and strict environment control laws in China. It seems that China

managed increasing input costs and still enjoys leading role in the international

market. Considering this fact, it can be concluded that China will keep on enjoying its

approximately 50% share in textile and clothing business on international level.

1 China including Hong Kong

Introduction

As per report of WTO, total exports on international level of all sorts of commodities

were US $26,453 billion and US $38,861 billion in 2009 and 2013 respectively.

Table 1 shows that WTO has divided international commodities trade in 17

categories. It is obvious from Table 1 that manufactured goods have highest share

(30.49%). After manufacturing sector, machinery and transport equipment is second with

15.27% share in 2013. Fuel business is third with 10.29% share. Textile and clothing has

minor share in the international market, which was only 1.99% in 2009 and 1.97% in

2013. The data further shows that agriculture sector has 4.47% market share in 2013,

which is roughly double as compared to textile and clothing industries.

As per data provided by Pakistan Trade Development Authority (PTDA), textile and

clothing has more than 60% share in Pakistan's international exports and this sector is

the largest manufacturing sector in Pakistan. On the other hand, textile and clothing

has least share in the international trade. This is the point, which Pakistan needs to

rethink while making and implementing the trade policies. The Pakistan Government

has always been giving best offers to textile and clothing industries. Textile and

clothing industry of Pakistan is playing a major role in exports of Pakistan but when it

is compared with other countries, performance of textile and clothing industries of

Pakistan have been quite dissatisfactory. Discussion about the reasons of poor

performance is out of the scope of this report. This report is an effort to explain the

trends in the international textile and clothing businesses.

Global textile and clothing exports 2009-2013

Total global textile exports were US $211 billion and US $306 billion in 2009 and

2013 respectively. Clothing exports were US $316 billion and US $460 billion in

2009 and 2013 respectively. It is already mentioned that the share of textile and

clothing industries is currently less than 2% of the total global exports. Trade

Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) reported that total exports of Pakistan

2012-2013 were US $24.46 billion, which is only 0.06% of the total global exports. It

means that the share of Pakistan in international market is negligible.

Textile and clothing exports of Pakistan have a significant share in total exports of

Pakistan. As stated by TDAP, in 2012-13, textile and clothing had a 52.4% share in

total exports of Pakistan. We must note the fact that textile and clothing industries are

major industries of Pakistan but they only had 1.97% share in the international market

in 2013, which meant that Textile and clothing industries, despite being our major

industries, have minor impact on the total international exports and turnover.

Table 1 Export of All Commodities at International Level: 2009 and 2013

(Million US$)

Year 2009 2013 Share% 2009

Share %2013

Agricultural products 1,182,305 1,744,833 4.47 4.49 Food 1,002,366 1,456,682 3.79 3.75 Fuels and mining products 2,272,247 3,996,976 8.59 10.29 Fuels 1,813,061 3,257,538 6.85 8.38 Manufactures 8,362,923 11,848,002 31.61 30.49 Iron and steel 326,201 454,032 1.23 1.17 Chemicals 1,461,714 2,001,181 5.53 5.15 Pharmaceuticals 438,078 521,700 1.66 1.34 Machinery and transport equipment 4,207,708 5,932,174 15.91 15.27 Office and telecom equipment 1,321,517 1,750,113 5.00 4.50 Electronic data processing and office equipment 461,618 543,127 1.75 1.40 Telecommunications equipment 504,602 669,579 1.91 1.72

Integrated circuits and electronic components 355,297 537,407 1.34 1.38 Transport equipment 1,371,879 2,033,410 5.19 5.23 Automotive products 844,075 1,347,798 3.19 3.47 Textiles 211,109 305,898 0.80 0.79 Clothing 316,411 460,268 1.20 1.18 Total 26,453,111 38,860,718 1.99 1.97

Clothing Exports Trends 2009-2013

Comparison of the data collected in 2009 and 2013 shows the share and growth rate

of different countries in textile and clothing exports. In 2009, total export of clothing

was US $ 316.41 billion and US $460 Billion in 2013. Clothing exports increased by

45% over the five-year period. This is a tremendous increase and it can be predicted

that in 2016, this figure will be more than US$ 1 trillion. Clothing sector is important

for developing countries. Table 2 depicts that developing countries have more than

60% share in clothing exports. Any positive change in clothing exports will

significantly affect the economies of the third world countries. Clothing industry is

more labor intensive and less capital intensive. It helps in developing several small-

scale industries and creating a lot of employment opportunities.

S No. Reporter 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Share(%) in 2013

World 316411 353415 417724 422573 460268 1 China 107264 129820 153774 159614 177435 33.90

2

Hong Kong, China

22826 24049 24505 22573 21937 7.21

3 Italy 19638 20122 23273 22166 23735 6.21 4 Germany 16978 17303 19461 17473 18409 5.37 5 India 12005 11229 14672 13833 16843 3.79

6 Bangladesh 11892 14855 19214 19788 23501 3.76 7 Turkey 11556 12760 13948 14290 15408 3.65 8 France 10120 10066 11050 10340 11046 3.20 9 Viet Nam 8540 10390 13149 14443 17230 2.70 10 Belgium 8481 7808 9042 7822 8584 2.68 11 Spain 7129 7151 9628 9983 11543 2.25

12 Netherlands 6462 7014 8498 7794 8612 2.04 13 Indonesia 5915 6820 8045 7524 7692 1.87

14 United Kingdom 5199 5488 6564 6846 7527 1.64

15 United States 4187 4692 5241 5614 5859 1.32

16 Mexico 4113 4363 4638 4449 4530 1.30 17 Thailand 3724 4300 4561 4275 4100 1.18 18 Denmark 3404 3504 4143 3619 3772 1.08 19 Pakistan 3357 3930 4550 4214 4549 1.06 20 Sri Lanka 3265 3491 4211 4005 4511 1.03

The Role of China in Clothing Exports

Many surveys show that China was moving away from clothing industry and towards

producing hi-tech products. Many hi-tech products are manufactured in China

including computers, laptops and scientific equipment etc. But at the same time, we

observe that China is continuously increasing its share in clothing exports. Figure 2

emphasizes the fact that China (including Hong Kong) had 41% share in clothing

exports in 2009, which increased to 43% in 2013. From this analysis, it seems that

China is not interested in leaving space for other countries to increase their share in

clothing exports. Finding the reasons of this change is out of the scope of this report.

Figure 1 Clothing exports (MN US$) of China and Hong Kong

130,090

199,372

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50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

2009 2013

Clothing Exports of China Including Hong Kong (million US$)

Figure 2 % Share of China and Hong Kong in Clothing Exports

Clothing Exports and Europe

After China, Europe has major share in clothing exports. Eight European countries

(including Turkey) are included in top 20 countries of the world for their voluminous

clothing exports. In 2009, share of these eight countries was 27% and in 2013, it was

24.65%. It is also important to note that there is 32% increase in total exports of

Europe from 2009 to 2013. In 2009, Europe exported clothing of worth US $85

billion and it increased to US $114 billion in 2013.

Among European countries, Italy had 6.2% share in 2009 and 5.11% share in 2013.

Germany is second to Italy with 5.37% and 4.77% share in 2009 and 2013

respectively. Turkey is third for clothing exports in European countries. Figure 3

shows that there is a declining trend in share percentage. However, the figure also

shows that Turkey has been successful in maintaining its share. This figure explains

that Europe still has almost one-fourth share in international market that shows high

production capacity of European countries.

40.00

40.50

41.00

41.50

42.00

42.50

43.00

43.50

2009 2013

% Share of China Including Hong Kong in Clothing Exports

Figure 3 Share of European Countries in Clothing Exports

Clothing Export and South Asia

There are eight countries in South Asia. These counties have made South Asian

Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to improve regional cooperation.

India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the major players in clothing exports.

Figure 4 shows the export value of clothing of South Asia. It is quite obvious that

Bangladesh has the highest export value in 2013. In 2009, clothing exports of

Bangladesh were comparable to India but in 2013, it has surpassed India. Moreover,

Figure 4 shows that Pakistan and Sri Lanka have comparatively very low exports.

Total share of South Asia was 9.65% in 2009 and 10.73% in 2013. Out of this,

Bangladesh has the highest share, which is 5.11% and Pakistan and Sri Lanka have

less than 1% share. It is important to note that textile and clothing are the biggest

industries of Pakistan and Sri Lanka but their share in the international clothing

market is less than 1%. Pakistan has a long history of textile manufacturing and it is

- 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000

Italy Germany Turkey France

Belgium Spain

Netherlands United Kingdom

Denmark

MN US $

Clothing Exports of European Countries

2,013

2,009

the fourth largest country among cotton producing countries. It is the point, which

needs to be focused carefully for making better policies for textile and clothing

industries of Pakistan.

Figure 4 Share % of South Asia in Clothing Exports

Figure 5MN US $ Exports of South Asia 2009-2013

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1.00

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5.00

6.00

India Bangladesh Pakistan Sri Lanka

Share % of South Asia in Clothing Exports

2009

2013

-

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

India Bangladesh Pakistan Sri Lanka

MN US $

MN US $ Exports of South Asia 2009-2013

2,009

2,013

Clothing Exports and Far Southeast Asia

Three countries in Far Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are

among top twenty countries in clothing exports. Total share of these countries was

5.75% and 6.31% in 2009 and 2013 respectively. There is a marginal increase in their

market share and it is mainly due to significant increase in exports from Vietnam.

WTO data shows that Vietnam exported clothing of worth US $8.5 billion in 2009

and US $17.2 billion in 2013. It almost doubled its market share within five years.

Indonesia has the second highest growth with clothing exports of US $ 5.9 billion in

2009 and US $7.6 billion in 2013, which is almost 50% growth. There is no

significant increase in clothing exports of Thailand.

Figure 6 Clothing Exports of Far East Asia

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2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

Vietnam Indonesia Thailand

US

MN

$

Clothing Exports of Far East Asia 2009-2013

2009

2013

Figure 7 % Share of Far East Countries in Clothing Exports

Clothing Exports of USA and Mexico

Two more countries included in the list of top twenty countries for clothing exports

are USA and Mexico. USA had 1.32% share in 2009 and 1.27% in 2013, which

shows a decreasing trend. Mexico also faces the same situation. Mexico had 1.3%

share in 2009 and 0.89% share in 2013.

Figure 8 Clothing Exports of South Asia (MN US$)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Vietnam Indonesia Thailand

Share % of Far East in Clothing Exports

2009

2013

-

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

India Bangladesh Pakistan Sri Lanka

MN

US

$

Clothing Exports of SA 2009-2013

2,009

2,013

Figure 9 Share of South Asia in Clothing Exports

All the above discussion shows that developing countries are increasing their share in

clothing exports. We also observe that developed world still has more than 25% share

in clothing exports despite the fact that their clothing exports are decreasing. It seems

that in coming decades, developing world will be major player in clothing exports.

Moreover, China is still having an increasing trend and it might not give space to

other countries, which are already having minor share.

Textile Exports Trends 2009-2013

Textile sector comprises of textile raw material, finished and un-finished fabrics,

which are used to make clothing. WTO has divided textile into two main categories:

textile and clothing. In 2009, total textile exports had worth US $211 billion and US

$306 billion in 2013. There is an increase of 44% over the last five years. This is a

tremendous increase and it seems that in 2016, this figure will be more than a US$1

trillion. Textile sector is extremely important for developing countries. Table 2

0.00

1.00

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6.00

India Bangladesh Pakistan Sri Lanka

Share % of SA in Clothing Exports

2009

2013

depicts developing countries have more than 70% share in textile exports. Any

positive change in textile export values will significantly affect economics of third

world countries. Textile industry is more capital intensive and less labor intensive.

Moreover, after increase in the demand of technical textile, developed countries are

enjoying major share in textile exports. Table 2, shows a continuous increase in textile

exports of the developed world. It shows that developed world will succeed in

maintaining its share in the international market due to production of high tech

products.

Table 2 Textile Exports of Top 20 Countries

Reporter 2,009 2,010 2,011 2,012 2,013 Share in 2013 (%)

World 211,109 252,458 294,193 284,158 305,898 1 China 59,824 76,871 94,411 95,450 106,578 34.84 2 Germany 12,903 14,155 16,299 14,532 14,910 4.87 3 Italy 11,804 12,966 14,726 13,167 13,459 4.40 4 Hong Kong, China 9,976 11,307 11,283 10,546 10,718 3.50

5 United States 9,930 12,169 13,852 13,483 13,924 4.55

6 Korea, Republic of 9,155 10,968 12,369 11,970 12,043 3.94

7 India 9,111 12,833 15,340 15,274 18,907 6.18 8 Chinese Taipei 7,891 9,719 11,016 10,293 10,246 3.35

9 Turkey 7,724 8,964 10,772 11,054 12,157 3.97 10 Pakistan 6,510 7,848 9,082 8,705 9,341 3.05 11 Belgium 6,306 6,506 6,926 6,039 6,153 2.01 12 Japan 6,108 7,086 8,034 7,819 6,841 2.24 13 France 5,630 5,708 6,110 5,353 5,424 1.77 14 Netherlands 4,431 4,768 5,519 5,161 5,219 1.71

15 United Kingdom 3,653 3,981 4,436 4,282 4,358 1.42

16 Spain 3,476 3,773 4,302 4,003 4,321 1.41 17 Indonesia 3,208 4,144 4,791 4,541 4,632 1.51 18 Thailand 3,002 3,761 4,072 3,521 3,874 1.27 19 Czech Republic 2,130 2,269 2,668 2,424 2,539 0.83

20 Austria 2,043 2,213 2,491 2,199 2,270 0.74

China and Textile Exports

Textile exports data shows that China is having a significant share in textile exports

besides clothing exports. Figure 10 shows that China exported textiles of worth US

$70 billion in 2009 and its exports increased to US $117 billion in 2013. There is

almost 70% increase, which is much higher than the global textile exports growth,

which is 44%. It may be due to Chinas increasing share in technical textiles.

Technical textiles are quite expensive and contribute a lot to the total exports of

China. It shows that China is not leaving this area and consistently striving to have

better share in the textile business.

Figure 10 Textile exports (MN US$) of China and Hong Kong

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20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

2009 2013

MN US $

Textile Exports of China Including Hong Kong

Figure 11 Share % of China and Hong Kong in Textile Exports

Textile Exports and Europe

After China, Europe has major share in textile exports. Eight European countries

(including Turkey) are in top 20 countries of the world in textile exports. In 2009,

share of these eight countries was 28.47% and in 2013 it was 23.15%. It is also

important to note that there is a 32% increase in total sales. In 2009, Europe exported

clothing of worth US $85 billion and in 2013; it was US $114 billion. It shows that

there is a decrease in share percentage but still, Europe is the second largest textile

exporting region.

Among European countries, Germany had 6.11% share in 2009 and 4.87% share in

2013. Italy is next to Germany with 5.59% and 4.40% share in 2009 and 2013

respectively. Turkey is the third biggest European textile exporter, which has

increased its share from 3.66% in 2009 to 3.97% in 2013. Figure 12 shows that there

is a declining trend in share % of Europe as a whole. However, the figure shows that

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2009 2013

Share %

Textile Exports of China Including Hong Kong

Turkey has succeeded in maintaining its share. This figure also explains that even

now, European countries have almost one-fourth share in the international market.

Figure 12 Textile Exports of European Countries MN US $

Figure 13 Share % of European Countries in Textile Exports

- 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000

Germany

Italy

Turkey

Belgium

France

Netherlands

United Kingdom

Spain

Czech Republic

Austria

MN US $

Textile Exports of Europe

2013

2009

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00

Germany Italy

Turkey Belgium France

Netherlands United Kingdom

Spain Czech Republic

Austria

Share % in Global Textile Exports

Share of Europe in Textile Exports

2013

2009

Textile Exports and South Asia

Only two South Asian countries India and Pakistan are among top twenty countries

for textile exports. Their accumulated share was 9.23% in 2013. India exported textile

goods of worth US $9 billion in 2009 and US $18.9 billion in 2013, which was almost

double. Growth rate of India is 108%, much higher than the global growth rate. India

had 4.32% share in textile exports in 2009 and in 2013; it increased its share to

6.18%.

Pakistan is next to India because it exported textile goods of worth US $6.5 billion in

2009 and US $9.3 billion in 2013 and enjoyed growth rate of 43% less than the global

textile growth rate. Moreover, Figure 14 shows that Pakistan had 3.08% share in

international textile exports in 2009, which reduced to 3.05% in 2013. As we have

discussed in the previous section, share of Pakistan in clothing exports has a

decreasing trend. It throws light on the performance of the textile industry of Pakistan

during 2009 to 2013. Finding reasons of low performance is out of the scope of this

report.

Figure 14 Textile Exports of India and Pakistan

Figure 15 Share in Textile Exports of India and Pakistan

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6,000

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10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

2009 2013

MN US$

Textile Exports of SA

India

Pakistan

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6.00

7.00

2009 20013

Share (%) in Textile Exports of India and Pakistan

India

Pakistan

Textile Exports of Far East, Far Southeast Asia and Japan

Five countries of Far East and Far South East Asia are among top twenty textile

exporting countries including Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Total

share of these countries was 13.90% in 2009 and 12.30% in 2013. Figure 17 shows a

decreasing trend. Nevertheless, there is a marginal decrease in their share and it is

mainly due to significant increase in exports of China, which cannibalized their share.

Korea is at the top with 4.34% share in 2009 and 3.94% share in 2013. Taiwan is

second in the region with 3.74% share in 2009 and 3.35% share in 2013. Japan enjoys

third position. Share of these developed countries is mainly due to exports of hi-tech

fibers and fabrics.

v

Figure 16 Textile Export of Far East, Far Southeast Asia and Japan

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2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

Korea, Republic

of

Chinese Taipei

Japan Indonesia Thailand

US MN $

Textile Exports

2009

2013

Figure 17 Textile Export Share % of Far East, Far Southeast Asia and Japan

Textile Exports of USA

USA is fifth in textile exporting countries with 4.70% share in 2009 and 4.55% share

in 2013. USA exported textile goods of worth US $9.9 billion in 2009 and US $13.9

billion in 2013. It shows growth rate of 40%, which is marginally low as compared to

international growth rate. USA has the highest production of cotton in the world and it

is the biggest cotton exporter. Moreover, USA is also exporting high tech fibers and

fabrics.

0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00

Korea, Republic

of

Chinese Taipei

Japan Indonesia Thailand

Share %

Share % in Textile Exports

2009

20013

Figure 18 Textile Exports of USA (MN US$)

Figure 19 Share of USA in Textile Exports

Conclusion

All the above discussion shows that developing countries are increasing their share in

textile and clothing exports. We also observed that the developed world still had more

than 25% share in textile and clothing exports despite the fact that there is a

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10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

2009 2013

MN US $

Textile Exports of USA

4.45

4.50

4.55

4.60

4.65

4.70

4.75

2009 2013

Share%

Share of USA in Textile Exports

decreasing trend in their exports. It seems that in coming decades, developing world

will be major player in clothing exports. Moreover, China is still having an increasing

trend and it will not give space to other countries, which are already having minor

share.

Many experts have optimistic views about the role of China in textile and clothing

exports. They believe that China is leaving textile and clothing industry. Data issued

by WTO depicts that China is increasing its share in textile and clothing markets.

Growth rate of China is higher than the growth rate of the international market. It

means that China will grow faster than other countries in coming years. Moreover, no

other country is comparable to China for growth in textile and clothing exports. China

is at the top and Italy, the country next to China, has five times less share in textile

and clothing markets. It is a huge gap, which apparently seems difficult-to-fill. The

only solution is increasing production capacity and achieving economies of scales. Or

invite China to invest in countries with very low share in textile and clothing exports.