The overall value of cotton exports fell by an average -7.8% for all exporting countries from five years earlier in 2019 when cotton shipments were worth a total $56.2 billion.
Year over year, the dollar value for total cotton shipments shrank by -18.9% compared to $63.8 billion during 2022.
The largest exporters of cotton are mainland China, United States of America, India, Brazil and Pakistan. Combined, that powerful cohort of leading cotton shippers generated almost three-fifths (59.4%) of globally exported cotton in 2023.
From a continental perspective, suppliers located in Asia generated the highest portion of worldwide cotton exports at 57% of the global total. Sources in North America provided another 14.9% worth, trailed by exporters in Europe at 10.3% then those in Latin America (7.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Smaller percentages came from providers in Oceania (5.7%) mainly Australia, and Africa (4.6%).
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.
Top Cotton Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of cotton during 2023.
- mainland China: US$10.7 billion (20.6% of total cotton exports)
- United States: $7.3 billion (14.1%)
- India: $6.5 billion (12.5%)
- Brazil: $3.2 billion (6.2%)
- Pakistan: $3.1 billion (5.9%)
- Vietnam: $2.98 billion (5.7%)
- Australia: $2.95 billion (5.7%)
- Türkiye: $2.1 billion (4.1%)
- Italy: $1.2 billion (2.3%)
- Uzbekistan: $792.7 million (1.5%)
- Germany: $734.2 million (1.4%)
- Spain: $546.8 million (1.1%)
- Egypt: $523 million (1%)
- Benin: $515.5 million (1%)
- Indonesia: $483.5 million (0.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 84.1% of cotton exported in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the most modest declining exporters of cotton from 2022 were: Australia (down -4.3%), Germany (down -4.7%), Benin (down -5.1%) and India (down -6.5%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported cotton sales were led by: Uzbekistan (down -50.7% from 2022), United States of America (down -32.1%), Indonesia (down -27.4%), Egypt (down -21.9%) and mainland China (down -19.6%).
Searchable List of Cotton Exporting Countries in 2023
By value, the top 100 cotton exporters in the table below accounted for 99.9% of cotton shipped in 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Exported Cotton | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | mainland China | $10,664,945,000 | -19.6% |
| 2. | United States | $7,296,980,000 | -32.1% |
| 3. | India | $6,493,090,000 | -6.5% |
| 4. | Brazil | $3,205,257,000 | -17.6% |
| 5. | Pakistan | $3,077,349,000 | -10% |
| 6. | Vietnam | $2,976,988,000 | -9.9% |
| 7. | Australia | $2,954,025,000 | -4.3% |
| 8. | Türkiye | $2,099,160,000 | -7.3% |
| 9. | Italy | $1,172,647,000 | -11.3% |
| 10. | Uzbekistan | $792,735,000 | -50.7% |
| 11. | Germany | $734,233,000 | -4.7% |
| 12. | Spain | $546,816,000 | -7.1% |
| 13. | Egypt | $522,958,000 | -21.9% |
| 14. | Benin | $515,518,000 | -5.1% |
| 15. | Indonesia | $483,507,000 | -27.4% |
| 16. | Greece | $480,411,000 | -31.5% |
| 17. | Austria | $480,157,000 | -0.1% |
| 18. | Mexico | $411,739,000 | -21.5% |
| 19. | Netherlands | $349,086,000 | +2.7% |
| 20. | South Korea | $325,290,000 | -13.6% |
| 21. | France | $301,944,000 | +0.2% |
| 22. | Malaysia | $290,491,000 | +1.9% |
| 23. | Hong Kong | $274,442,000 | -20.7% |
| 24. | Thailand | $269,828,000 | -30.6% |
| 25. | Japan | $268,271,000 | -13.5% |
| 26. | Burkina Faso | $259,813,000 | -44.2% |
| 27. | Tajikistan | $249,752,000 | 0% |
| 28. | Sudan | $246,657,000 | -38.2% |
| 29. | Taiwan | $226,491,000 | -14.7% |
| 30. | Ivory Coast | $224,208,000 | -43.7% |
| 31. | Belgium | $210,211,000 | -18.1% |
| 32. | United Kingdom | $200,962,000 | -0.4% |
| 33. | Portugal | $196,602,000 | -11.3% |
| 34. | Azerbaijan | $163,960,000 | -23.3% |
| 35. | Dominican Republic | $155,303,000 | -14.8% |
| 36. | Kazakhstan | $148,530,000 | +49.7% |
| 37. | Turkmenistan | $136,289,000 | -50.2% |
| 38. | Afghanistan | $136,057,000 | -35% |
| 39. | Czech Republic | $126,838,000 | -4% |
| 40. | Bangladesh | $121,214,000 | +17.3% |
| 41. | Switzerland | $111,890,000 | -10.9% |
| 42. | El Salvador | $105,125,000 | -17.2% |
| 43. | Tanzania | $104,725,000 | -2.7% |
| 44. | Poland | $84,026,000 | -4.1% |
| 45. | Romania | $82,495,000 | -2% |
| 46. | Guatemala | $79,406,000 | +2% |
| 47. | Sri Lanka | $71,883,000 | +204.8% |
| 48. | Togo | $66,504,000 | -8% |
| 49. | Costa Rica | $64,833,000 | +13.6% |
| 50. | Denmark | $63,619,000 | +6.4% |
| 51. | Argentina | $54,554,000 | -64.4% |
| 52. | Mali | $54,540,000 | -87.7% |
| 53. | Israel | $49,583,000 | +5.4% |
| 54. | Syria | $48,833,000 | +36.1% |
| 55. | South Africa | $47,086,000 | -27.2% |
| 56. | Nicaragua | $46,325,000 | -31.3% |
| 57. | Kyrgyzstan | $42,281,000 | -75.4% |
| 58. | Bulgaria | $41,865,000 | -4.1% |
| 59. | Hungary | $40,940,000 | -0.5% |
| 60. | Morocco | $37,606,000 | -14.3% |
| 61. | Mozambique | $37,597,000 | -19.9% |
| 62. | Cameroon | $37,572,000 | -65.5% |
| 63. | Zimbabwe | $34,771,000 | -23.7% |
| 64. | Peru | $33,969,000 | +21.8% |
| 65. | Paraguay | $31,058,000 | +102.7% |
| 66. | Uganda | $28,408,000 | -4.4% |
| 67. | Zambia | $27,438,000 | +81.8% |
| 68. | Lesotho | $27,135,000 | -32.2% |
| 69. | Myanmar | $26,795,000 | +6.8% |
| 70. | Lithuania | $23,056,000 | -6.6% |
| 71. | Canada | $22,842,000 | +5.7% |
| 72. | Tunisia | $21,546,000 | -47.1% |
| 73. | Mauritius | $21,075,000 | -14% |
| 74. | Colombia | $17,250,000 | -22.1% |
| 75. | Nigeria | $16,932,000 | -6.6% |
| 76. | Singapore | $16,499,000 | +12.7% |
| 77. | Slovenia | $16,221,000 | -28.5% |
| 78. | Sweden | $15,193,000 | +1% |
| 79. | Ecuador | $15,127,000 | -39.1% |
| 80. | Cambodia | $15,089,000 | +27.9% |
| 81. | Senegal | $13,930,000 | -31.1% |
| 82. | Russia | $12,347,000 | -61.4% |
| 83. | Chad | $11,937,000 | -62.6% |
| 84. | Ethiopia | $11,674,000 | +10% |
| 85. | Croatia | $9,978,000 | -3.4% |
| 86. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $9,611,000 | +10.8% |
| 87. | Bahrain | $9,540,000 | +110.9% |
| 88. | Serbia | $7,989,000 | +10% |
| 89. | Mauritania | $7,961,000 | -6.3% |
| 90. | Madagascar | $7,939,000 | +0.6% |
| 91. | North Macedonia | $7,927,000 | -33.8% |
| 92. | United Arab Emirates | $7,338,000 | -90.7% |
| 93. | Norway | $6,811,000 | +26.3% |
| 94. | Philippines | $6,627,000 | +0.2% |
| 95. | Venezuela | $5,898,000 | +6.6% |
| 96. | Slovakia | $4,896,000 | +6.3% |
| 97. | Latvia | $4,802,000 | -36.8% |
| 98. | Algeria | $4,684,000 | -36.2% |
| 99. | Finland | $4,651,000 | -43.3% |
| 100. | Oman | $4,396,000 | -87.6% |
Posting the strongest percentage gains in their international sales of cotton were suppliers in Sri Lanka (up 204.8% from 2022), Bahrain (up 110.9%), Paraguay (up 102.7%), Zambia (up 81.8%) then Kazakhstan (up 49.7%).
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 2022 data was available.
Countries Earning Largest Trade Surpluses from Cotton
The following countries recorded the highest positive net exports for cotton during 2023. 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.
- United States: US$6.5 billion (net export surplus down -33.3% since 2022)
- India: $5.7 billion (up 9.4%)
- Brazil: $3.1 billion (down -18.9%)
- Australia: $2.9 billion (down -3.7%)
- Pakistan: $2.1 billion (up 56.2%)
- mainland China: $1.7 billion (down -57.7%)
- Uzbekistan: $744.8 million (down -52.4%)
- Benin: $490.3 million (down -5.9%)
- Greece: $393.2 million (down -33.7%)
- Burkina Faso: $252.4 million (down -45.3%)
- Tajikistan: $247 million (up 0.5%)
- Sudan: $212.3 million (down -35.4%)
- Ivory Coast: $189.3 million (down -47.4%)
- Azerbaijan: $156.2 million (down -24.4%)
- Netherlands: $154.3 million (up 18%)
The United States of America generated the highest surplus 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 2023. 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$6.4 billion (net export deficit down -28.9% since 2022)
- Vietnam: -$1.8 billion (down -26.5%)
- Indonesia: -$1 billion (down -34.3%)
- Türkiye: -$647 million (down -74.9%)
- Tunisia: -$592.2 million (down -12.5%)
- Morocco: -$568.4 million (down -3.4%)
- Cambodia: -$546.9 million (up 10.2%)
- South Korea: -$499.5 million (down -41.2%)
- Sri Lanka: -$453.5 million (down -29.5%)
- Mexico: -$404.4 million (down -34.4%)
- Portugal: -$363.9 million (down -34%)
- Colombia: -$322.6 million (down -43.9%)
- Russia: -$319.5 million (down -67%)
- Guatemala: -$315.2 million (down -38.9%)
- Thailand: -$296.6 million (down -45.3%)
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 August 30, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 30, 2024
Wikipedia, Cotton. Accessed on August 30, 2024