Overall, the value of cotton bought by all importing countries decreased by an average -6.7% from 5 years earlier in 2019 when globally imported cotton was valued at $48.7 billion.
Year over year, the value of worldwide cotton imports shrank by -25.1% compared to $60.6 billion starting from 2022.
The 5 biggest buyers of imported cotton are mainland China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Türkiye and Indonesia. Collectively, that quintet bought over half (54.1%) of worldwide spending on cotton imported in 2023.
From a continental perspective, Asian countries bought over two-thirds (69.5%) of overall cotton imports.
Smaller percentages of the global total were imported by cotton buyers in Europe (13.9%), Africa (7%), Latin America (5.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, North America (3.8%) then Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
For research purposes, the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System code for cotton is 52. This broad category includes raw cotton, cotton yarn, thread and woven fabrics.
Top Cotton Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that purchased the highest dollar value worth of imported cotton during 2023.
- mainland China: US$9 billion (19.8% of total imported cotton)
- Bangladesh: $6.6 billion (14.4%)
- Vietnam: $4.8 billion (10.5%)
- Türkiye: $2.7 billion (6%)
- Indonesia: $1.5 billion (3.3%)
- Italy: $1.1 billion (2.3%)
- Pakistan: $981.8 million (2.2%)
- South Korea: $824.8 million (1.8%)
- Mexico: $816.13 million (1.8%)
- United States: $815.34 million (1.8%)
- India: $812.7 million (1.8%)
- Germany: $744.5 million (1.6%)
- Egypt: $689.5 million (1.5%)
- Tunisia: $613.8 million (1.4%)
- Morocco: $606.1 million (1.3%)
  ;
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 71.6% of all cotton imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the most modest declining markets for cotton from 2022 to 2023 were: mainland China (down -3.3%), Morocco (down -4.1%), Egypt (down -13.4%) and Tunisia (down -14.5%).
Those countries that posted the severest declines in their imported cotton purchases were led by: India (down -53.5% from 2022), Pakistan (down -52.7%), Türkiye (down -43.3%) and South Korea (down -32.8%).
Searchable List of Cotton Importing Countries in 2023
The 100 major importers of cotton in the table below represent 99.2% of the overall amount spent on imported cotton during 2023.
| Rank | Importer | Cotton Imports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | mainland China | $8,987,557,000 | -3.3% |
| 2. | Bangladesh | $6,554,082,000 | -28.4% |
| 3. | Vietnam | $4,755,314,000 | -16.9% |
| 4. | Türkiye | $2,746,157,000 | -43.3% |
| 5. | Indonesia | $1,519,458,000 | -32.3% |
| 6. | Italy | $1,057,832,000 | -25.1% |
| 7. | Pakistan | $981,786,000 | -52.7% |
| 8. | South Korea | $824,754,000 | -32.8% |
| 9. | Mexico | $816,129,000 | -28.5% |
| 10. | United States | $815,339,000 | -20.6% |
| 11. | India | $812,675,000 | -53.5% |
| 12. | Germany | $744,515,000 | -20.7% |
| 13. | Egypt | $689,501,000 | -13.4% |
| 14. | Tunisia | $613,769,000 | -14.5% |
| 15. | Morocco | $606,050,000 | -4.1% |
| 16. | Thailand | $566,432,000 | -39.2% |
| 17. | Cambodia | $561,991,000 | +10.6% |
| 18. | Portugal | $560,507,000 | -27.5% |
| 19. | Sri Lanka | $525,430,000 | -21.2% |
| 20. | France | $481,706,000 | -5.2% |
| 21. | Dominican Republic | $426,609,000 | -23.6% |
| 22. | Japan | $423,466,000 | -30.7% |
| 23. | Malaysia | $418,055,000 | -8.2% |
| 24. | Spain | $397,079,000 | -13.8% |
| 25. | Guatemala | $394,598,000 | -33.5% |
| 26. | Colombia | $339,859,000 | -43.1% |
| 27. | Austria | $337,287,000 | +8.3% |
| 28. | Russia | $331,824,000 | -66.8% |
| 29. | Peru | $305,808,000 | -48.4% |
| 30. | United Arab Emirates | $301,138,000 | +85.9% |
| 31. | Hong Kong | $287,837,000 | -7.8% |
| 32. | United Kingdom | $267,847,000 | -14.8% |
| 33. | Poland | $260,525,000 | -25.2% |
| 34. | Romania | $260,425,000 | -14% |
| 35. | Taiwan | $226,557,000 | -16.9% |
| 36. | Mali | $225,875,000 | +1268% |
| 37. | El Salvador | $213,838,000 | -27.3% |
| 38. | Belgium | $198,774,000 | -17.2% |
| 39. | Netherlands | $194,741,000 | -6.9% |
| 40. | Iran | $191,886,000 | -51.8% |
| 41. | Nicaragua | $190,208,000 | -29.4% |
| 42. | Myanmar | $143,165,000 | +5.9% |
| 43. | Haiti | $142,050,000 | -23.1% |
| 44. | Brazil | $141,874,000 | +22.7% |
| 45. | Czech Republic | $140,859,000 | -15.1% |
| 46. | South Africa | $134,362,000 | -18.9% |
| 47. | Bulgaria | $121,131,000 | -16.5% |
| 48. | Switzerland | $119,922,000 | -13.8% |
| 49. | Ukraine | $117,496,000 | -4.1% |
| 50. | Mauritius | $112,167,000 | -36.5% |
| 51. | Madagascar | $111,254,000 | -24.8% |
| 52. | Philippines | $109,995,000 | -24.4% |
| 53. | Canada | $95,297,000 | -19.6% |
| 54. | Nepal | $90,514,000 | +10.9% |
| 55. | Greece | $87,185,000 | -19.5% |
| 56. | Argentina | $82,449,000 | -33.9% |
| 57. | Algeria | $74,358,000 | -12.2% |
| 58. | Ecuador | $71,200,000 | -41.7% |
| 59. | Saudi Arabia | $70,783,000 | +85.1% |
| 60. | North Macedonia | $66,110,000 | -11.6% |
| 61. | Serbia | $65,382,000 | -18.1% |
| 62. | Albania | $63,011,000 | -4.5% |
| 63. | Eswatini | $61,089,000 | -27.1% |
| 64. | Hungary | $59,321,000 | -16.5% |
| 65. | Kazakhstan | $59,046,000 | +37.5% |
| 66. | Lesotho | $53,632,000 | -59.5% |
| 67. | Paraguay | $51,659,000 | -6.3% |
| 68. | Guinea | $50,634,000 | -14% |
| 69. | Australia | $50,310,000 | -30.6% |
| 70. | Israel | $49,009,000 | -21.8% |
| 71. | Kenya | $48,752,000 | -54% |
| 72. | Togo | $48,201,000 | +0.4% |
| 73. | Uzbekistan | $47,946,000 | +11.2% |
| 74. | Lithuania | $47,916,000 | -17.7% |
| 75. | Denmark | $46,725,000 | -16.9% |
| 76. | Cameroon | $44,095,000 | +26.9% |
| 77. | Costa Rica | $39,326,000 | +33.8% |
| 78. | Belarus | $37,998,000 | -33.3% |
| 79. | Chile | $37,674,000 | -36.2% |
| 80. | Croatia | $36,226,000 | -4.6% |
| 81. | Ivory Coast | $34,884,000 | -9.1% |
| 82. | Sudan | $34,377,000 | -51.2% |
| 83. | Turkmenistan | $30,559,000 | +1403% |
| 84. | Sweden | $30,401,000 | -12.5% |
| 85. | Congo | $30,342,000 | +5205% |
| 86. | Estonia | $29,491,000 | -10.4% |
| 87. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $28,208,000 | -2.1% |
| 88. | Venezuela | $28,000,000 | -53.7% |
| 89. | Tanzania | $27,719,000 | -28.2% |
| 90. | Kuwait | $27,413,000 | +34.5% |
| 91. | Slovakia | $26,955,000 | -18.2% |
| 92. | Afghanistan | $25,754,000 | +69.7% |
| 93. | Benin | $25,247,000 | +12.4% |
| 94. | Moldova | $23,906,000 | +6.8% |
| 95. | Singapore | $22,357,000 | -6.5% |
| 96. | Slovenia | $22,346,000 | -27.9% |
| 97. | Bahrain | $22,236,000 | +18.5% |
| 98. | Nigeria | $21,879,000 | +85.7% |
| 99. | Armenia | $21,601,000 | -11.5% |
| 100. | Lebanon | $20,683,000 | +75.7% |
Enlarging the scope to encompass the 100 major importers, the strongest increases in purchases of imported cotton were posted by buyers in: Congo (up 5,205% from 2022), Turkmenistan (up 1,403%), Mali (up 1,268%), United Arab Emirates (up 85.9%) and Nigeria (up 85.7%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means 2022 data was unavailable.
See also Cotton Exports by Country, T-shirt Exports by Country, Leather Shoes Exports by Country, Top Exported Hats by Country and Top Exported Baby Clothing Sales by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on October 7, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 7, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 7, 2024
Wikipedia, Cotton. Accessed on October 7, 2024