The Exports of Textiles and Clothing Stagnated in 2012;WTO

The exports of textiles and clothing stagnated in 2012, according to the ‘International Trade Statistics 2013’, published by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The report states that half of the world’s top ten textile and apparel exporters achieved export growth between 0.2 percent and 7.5 percent, but the other half recorded declines varying between 2.3 percent and 8 percent.

The top ten textiles and clothing exporting countries in 2012 were: China, EU 27, India, Turkey, Bangladesh, United States, Vietnam, South Korea, Pakistan and Indonesia.

China continued to be the leading exporter of textiles and clothing, with its share in world exports rising marginally to 33 percent for textiles, up from 32 percent in 2011, and to 38 percent for clothing, up from 37 percent in 2011, the report states.

However, it was Vietnam which achieved the highest growth of 7.5 percent in textiles and apparel export last year. On the other hand, the exports from the European Union decreased by 8 percent.

On the import side, the European Union and the United States remained the major markets for clothing, accounting for 38 percent and 20 percent, respectively, of world imports in 2012, the report said.

While textiles had a 2.5 percent share in world manufacturing exports in 2012, clothing had a 3.7 percent share, according to the report.

In terms of value, the global textile and apparel trade stood at US$ 708 billion in 2012, with the textile sector accounting for around US$ 286 billion, and the apparel sector contributing around US$ 423 billion.

In terms of percentage, global textiles exports decreased by 3 percent year-on-year in 2012, while clothing exports increased marginally by 1 percent year-on-year.