Bangladesh has emerged as the world’s second-largest textile exporter after making a dramatic climb in the global rankings over the past two decades.

The country ranked 14th among textile exporters in 2006 but had moved into second place by 2025, according to industry data highlighted by the International Cotton Advisory Committee.

China retained its position as the world’s largest exporter, while Vietnam climbed from 21st place in 2006 to become the third-largest exporter in 2025.

Together, China, Bangladesh and Vietnam accounted for around 44 percent of global textile exports in 2025, illustrating the growing concentration of textile and clothing manufacturing in Asia.

The ICAC’s August 2026 edition of The Textiles Observer showed that the value of global textile exports increased substantially during the same period.

Worldwide textile exports rose from around $560 billion in 2006 to approximately $914 billion in 2025.

Knit and woven garments together represented nearly 60 percent of the total.

Bangladesh and Vietnam recorded particularly strong export growth over the period and overtook several established textile-producing countries.

The changes underline a broader shift in the geography of global clothing manufacturing, with Asian production centres becoming increasingly important.

At the same time, the markets purchasing finished textile products have become more diversified.

The United States remained the world’s largest textile importer in 2025, but its share of global imports declined significantly.

The US share fell from 18.9 percent in 2006 to 13.7 percent in 2025.

The growing importance of European and Asian markets has contributed to a more dispersed global textile trading system.

Another major transformation is taking place in the types of fibres used by the industry.

Cotton represented 68.3 percent of global fibre demand in 1960, but its share had fallen to 21.1 percent by 2025.

Synthetic fibres moved in the opposite direction, increasing their share from only 4.6 percent in 1960 to 71.7 percent in 2025.

The shift can also be seen in international garment trade.

Exports of cotton knit garments increased in value from about $69.9 billion in 2006 to $128.3 billion in 2025.

However, synthetic and other man-made fibres grew considerably faster, with knit garment exports using those fibres rising from $35.6 billion to $99.2 billion during the period.

The shift has been even more pronounced in woven garments, where man-made fibres surpassed cotton in export value in 2021.

Alongside changing fibre demand, the global cotton industry continues to face quality-related challenges.

The ICAC publication highlighted stickiness and seed-coat fragments as problems that can affect yarn quality, manufacturing efficiency and the value of cotton.

A global study cited in the publication found that 64 percent of respondents considered stickiness a significant cotton-fibre defect.

Cotton originating from areas associated with severe stickiness problems can face price discounts of as much as 50 percent.

The findings suggest that the global textile industry is being reshaped simultaneously by changing manufacturing centres, more diversified consumer markets and increasing competition between natural and synthetic fibres.

For Bangladesh, the rise from 14th to second place represents a major expansion of its position in the global textile trade.

Maintaining that position will increasingly depend not only on export volume but also on competitiveness, product diversification, fibre trends, quality and the industry’s ability to respond to changes in international markets.