2 days ago
4
PROTECT YOURSELF with Orgo-Life® QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY
Orgo-Life the new way to the future Advertising by Adpathway
Cotton texture conceptualGlobal sales for cotton exports from all countries totaled US$48.3 billion in 2025.
The overall value of cotton exports declined by an average -23.2% for all exporting countries from five years earlier in 2021 when cotton shipments were worth a total $62.9 billion.
Year over year, the dollar value for total cotton shipments retreated by -8.2% compared to $52.7 billion during 2024.
The largest exporters of cotton are mainland China, India, United States of America, Brazil and Vietnam. Combined, that powerful cohort of leading cotton shippers generated approaching two-thirds (63.8%) of globally exported cotton in 2025.
From a continental perspective, suppliers located in Asia generated the highest portion of worldwide cotton exports at 57.2% of the global total. Sources based in North America provided another 12.6% worth, trailed by exporters in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean at 12% then those in Europe (9.4%).
Smaller percentages came from providers in Oceania (4.8%) mainly Australia and New Zealand, then Africa (4%).
For research purposes, the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for cotton is 52. This broad classification includes raw cotton, cotton yarn, thread and woven fabrics.
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of cotton during 2025.
- mainland China: US$10.9 billion (22.6% of total cotton exports)
- India: $6.1 billion (12.6%)
- United States: $5.9 billion (12.2%)
- Brazil: $5.1 billion (10.5%)
- Vietnam: $2.9 billion (6%)
- Pakistan: $2.37 billion (4.9%)
- Australia: $2.33 billion (4.8%)
- Türkiye: $2.26 billion (4.7%)
- Italy: $1.1 billion (2.3%)
- Germany: $551.4 million (1.1%)
- Spain: $506 million (1%)
- Indonesia: $461.5 million (1%)
- Egypt: $447 million (0.9%)
- Austria: $436.8 million (0.9%)
- Benin: $419.4 million (0.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 86.3% of cotton exported in 2025.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing cotton exporters from 2024 were: Indonesia (up 11.1%), Türkiye (up 3.7%), Austria (up 2.1%) and Italy (up 0.8%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported cotton sales were led by: Benin (down -20.4% from 2024), Pakistan (down -11.6%), Australia (down -8%), Vietnam (down -6.7%) and India (down -6.7%).
By value, the top 100 cotton exporters in the table below accounted for 99.9% of cotton shipped in 2025.
| 1 | mainland China | $10,914,918,000 | +0.7% |
| 2 | India | $6,104,327,000 | -6.7% |
| 3 | United States | $5,881,164,000 | -4.8% |
| 4 | Brazil | $5,051,830,000 | -4.5% |
| 5 | Vietnam | $2,876,651,000 | -6.7% |
| 6 | Pakistan | $2,373,179,000 | -11.6% |
| 7 | Australia | $2,326,418,000 | -8% |
| 8 | Türkiye | $2,259,223,000 | +3.7% |
| 9 | Italy | $1,089,947,000 | +0.8% |
| 10 | Germany | $551,366,000 | -5.5% |
| 11 | Spain | $506,049,000 | +0.7% |
| 12 | Indonesia | $461,487,000 | +11.1% |
| 13 | Egypt | $446,979,000 | -6% |
| 14 | Austria | $436,762,000 | +2.1% |
| 15 | Benin | $419,394,000 | -20.4% |
| 16 | Greece | $379,092,000 | -22.2% |
| 17 | Uzbekistan | $339,565,000 | -75.6% |
| 18 | Malaysia | $320,713,000 | +0.3% |
| 19 | Netherlands | $287,978,000 | -0.2% |
| 20 | South Korea | $279,733,000 | -7.7% |
| 21 | France | $254,967,000 | -5% |
| 22 | Japan | $249,781,000 | -4.2% |
| 23 | Hong Kong | $212,391,000 | -18.9% |
| 24 | Mexico | $211,908,000 | -22.5% |
| 25 | Thailand | $208,130,000 | -11.5% |
| 26 | Ivory Coast | $207,055,000 | -29.7% |
| 27 | Azerbaijan | $203,301,000 | -4.8% |
| 28 | Portugal | $181,472,000 | +0.5% |
| 29 | Mali | $177,031,000 | -45.9% |
| 30 | Bangladesh | $172,545,000 | +11% |
| 31 | Burkina Faso | $168,107,000 | -49.9% |
| 32 | United Kingdom | $162,964,000 | -2.3% |
| 33 | Belgium | $152,733,000 | -1.6% |
| 34 | Afghanistan | $141,236,000 | -37.7% |
| 35 | Honduras | $120,134,000 | +1501575% |
| 36 | Argentina | $115,278,000 | -27.5% |
| 37 | Kazakhstan | $114,646,000 | -28.7% |
| 38 | Taiwan | $113,633,000 | -38.9% |
| 39 | Czech Republic | $107,955,000 | +1.7% |
| 40 | Tanzania | $102,051,000 | +33.2% |
| 41 | Dominican Republic | $96,125,000 | -21.6% |
| 42 | Guatemala | $92,976,000 | +1.2% |
| 43 | Turkmenistan | $85,901,000 | -28% |
| 44 | Costa Rica | $81,993,000 | -17.4% |
| 45 | Denmark | $80,377,000 | +19.7% |
| 46 | El Salvador | $76,308,000 | -14.3% |
| 47 | Romania | $68,803,000 | -3.9% |
| 48 | Nicaragua | $68,372,000 | +53.8% |
| 49 | South Africa | $65,567,000 | +11.3% |
| 50 | Togo | $65,296,000 | -9.8% |
| 51 | Syria | $56,916,000 | +8.7% |
| 52 | Israel | $55,840,000 | +53.5% |
| 53 | Poland | $55,280,000 | -4.7% |
| 54 | Sudan | $54,936,000 | -41.6% |
| 55 | Switzerland | $47,983,000 | -37% |
| 56 | Bulgaria | $34,222,000 | -7.9% |
| 57 | Hungary | $29,065,000 | -29.1% |
| 58 | Ethiopia | $28,097,000 | +24.2% |
| 59 | Cameroon | $25,478,000 | -91.3% |
| 60 | Mauritius | $24,505,000 | +17% |
| 61 | Peru | $22,049,000 | -2% |
| 62 | Canada | $19,026,000 | -17.2% |
| 63 | Cambodia | $17,919,000 | +2.4% |
| 64 | Morocco | $17,453,000 | -47.4% |
| 65 | Paraguay | $17,368,000 | -65.1% |
| 66 | Lesotho | $16,761,000 | -41% |
| 67 | Ecuador | $16,656,000 | -24.1% |
| 68 | Tajikistan | $16,188,000 | -92.3% |
| 69 | Kyrgyzstan | $14,435,000 | -54.7% |
| 70 | Colombia | $14,328,000 | +15.1% |
| 71 | Chad | $13,869,000 | -0.8% |
| 72 | Mauritania | $13,283,000 | +31.5% |
| 73 | Lithuania | $13,021,000 | -13.3% |
| 74 | Uganda | $12,997,000 | -31.8% |
| 75 | Mozambique | $11,952,000 | -32% |
| 76 | Zimbabwe | $11,917,000 | -35% |
| 77 | Bahrain | $11,855,000 | +39.2% |
| 78 | Croatia | $11,660,000 | +4.2% |
| 79 | Senegal | $11,019,000 | +0.9% |
| 80 | Slovenia | $10,183,000 | -3.4% |
| 81 | Russia | $9,764,000 | -46.1% |
| 82 | Norway | $9,456,000 | +17.5% |
| 83 | Sweden | $8,846,000 | -7.5% |
| 84 | Singapore | $8,748,000 | -30.7% |
| 85 | North Macedonia | $8,647,000 | +11.1% |
| 86 | Sri Lanka | $8,525,000 | -25.7% |
| 87 | Serbia | $7,972,000 | +9.4% |
| 88 | Tunisia | $7,961,000 | -57.6% |
| 89 | Algeria | $7,663,000 | +61.9% |
| 90 | Zambia | $5,857,000 | -59.8% |
| 91 | Venezuela | $5,253,000 | -6.2% |
| 92 | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $4,915,000 | -42.4% |
| 93 | Estonia | $4,622,000 | +22.5% |
| 94 | Guinea | $4,513,000 | +136.7% |
| 95 | Slovakia | $4,370,000 | -42.4% |
| 96 | United Arab Emirates | $4,196,000 | -95.9% |
| 97 | Nigeria | $3,752,000 | -78.7% |
| 98 | Latvia | $3,650,000 | +1.4% |
| 99 | Madagascar | $3,554,000 | -35.5% |
| 100 | Finland | $3,113,000 | -10.3% |
Posting the strongest percentage gains in their international sales of cotton were suppliers in the Honduras (up 1,501,575% from 2024), Guinea (up 136.7%), Algeria (up 61.9%), Nicaragua (up 53.8%) then Israel (up 53.5%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns above. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means no 2024 data was available.
Countries Earning Largest Trade Surpluses from Cotton
The following countries recorded the highest positive net exports for cotton during 2025. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported cotton and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- mainland China: US$5.3 billion (net export surplus up 252.1% since 2024)
- United States: $5.1 billion (down -4.3%)
- Brazil: $4.9 billion (down -3.8%)
- India: $3.9 billion (down -26.7%)
- Australia: $2.3 billion (down -8%)
- Benin: $399.8 million (down -21.1%)
- Greece: $307.6 million (down -24.4%)
- Pakistan: $302.9 million (down -83%)
- Uzbekistan: $298.7 million (down -78.1%)
- Austria: $213.7 million (up 30%)
- Azerbaijan: $193.1 million (down -5.3%)
- Italy: $178.4 million (up 71.1%)
- Ivory Coast: $171 million (down -34.9%)
- Burkina Faso: $160.5 million (down -51.3%)
- Afghanistan: $123.4 million (down -34.2%)
Mainland China and the United States of America generated the highest surpluses in the international trade of cotton. In turn, these positive cashflows confirm these leading countries’ strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Causing Worst Trade Deficits from Cotton
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for cotton during 2025. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported cotton purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Bangladesh: -US$7.4 billion (net export deficit down -10.2% since 2024)
- Vietnam: -$1.9 billion (up 32.4%)
- Indonesia: -$935.5 million (down -13.2%)
- Nigeria: -$933.2 million (up 3,334%)
- Cambodia: -$808.2 million (up 8%)
- Honduras: -$616.3 million (up 4,778%)
- Egypt: -$572.4 million (up 45.6%)
- Morocco: -$568.3 million (up 3.7%)
- Sri Lanka: -$553.5 million (down -5.6%)
- Colombia: -$459.5 million (up 5.8%)
- South Korea: -$412.8 million (down -14.6%)
- Tunisia: -$411.3 million (down -27%)
- Peru: -$397.5 million (up 17%)
- Mexico: -$396.9 million (down -25.5%)
- Portugal: -$350.6 million (down -8.9%)
A world leader in manufacturing apparel, Bangladesh incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of cotton–a key component for making a wide range of clothing and related articles. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Bangladesh’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for cotton-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful Bangladeshi demand.
See also Cotton Imports by Country, T-shirt Exports by Country, Leather Shoes Exports by Country, Top Exported Baby Clothing Sales and Top Exported Hats by Country
Research Sources:
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 28, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 28, 2026
Wikipedia, Cotton. Accessed on July 28, 2026
English (US) · 
French (CA) · 
French (FR) ·