Since the termination of the Multi-FiberAgreement (MFA) quota system, the global textile and apparel industry has beenin a state of flux. Under the MFA, global trade in textiles and apparel wasrestricted using a complex quota system. As a new era in global textilesemerged, numerous developing countries faced greater competition in terms ofprices (McNamara, 2008).


In 2004, global exports of textiles and clothingwere valued at $453 billion, representing 5.1 percent of total world merchandisetrade (McNamara, 2008). Developing countries are responsible for producingover half of the world's textile exports and nearly 75 percent of its clothingexports (UNCTAD, 2005).


While textiles tend to be capital-intensivebusinesses and apparels businesses are labor-intensive, trade in the two issimilar. Including intra-EU trade, the European Union is the biggest exporterof textiles, followed by China


According to WTO trade statistics, India, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand and Mexico are all among the top fifteen textileexporters. In all, Asia accounted for 45.1 percent of world textiles exportsin 2004


The EU, the US and China are the largest importersof textiles. For apparel, the EU and China, again, are the largest exporters ofclothing .Countries such as Turkey, Mexico, India, Indonesia and Pakistan areranked in the top 15 clothing exporters, but lag far preferential tradeagreements remains behind China. In all, Asia accounted for 46.8% of worldclothing exports in 2004.The EU, the US, and Japan are the largest importers.(McNamara, 2008). A number of countries, including Cambodia, EI Salvador,Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Lesotho, depend heavily on the clothingindustry for their exports. In fact, more than 40 percent of total merchandiseexports in these countries was from the clothing industry

 

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Originally Published In New Cloth Market:January 2010