Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of cotton during 2016:

1. China: US$15 billion (29.3% of total cotton exports)
2. India: $6.3 billion (12.2%)
3. United States: $5.7 billion (11.1%)
4. Pakistan: $2.6 billion (5%)
5. Vietnam: $2.1 billion (4.1%)
6. Hong Kong: $1.9 billion (3.7%)
7. Turkey: $1.7 billion (3.4%)
8. Italy: $1.4 billion (2.8%)
9. Brazil: $1.4 billion (2.7%)
10. Australia: $1.2 billion (2.3%)
11. Germany: $956.6 million (1.9%)
12. Indonesia: $782.1 million (1.5%)
13. Spain: $735.1 million (1.4%)
14. Uzbekistan: $719.3 million (1.4%)
15. South Korea: $532.5 million (1%)

The listed 15 nations shipped 83.9% of all cotton exports in 2016.

Three of the above countries grew the value of their cotton exports since 2012: Vietnam (up 154.8%), Indonesia (up 10.1%) and China (up 1.1%).

The remaining 12 countries posted declines in their exported cotton sales led by: Australia (down -56.1%), Pakistan (down -51%), Uzbekistan (down -50.3%), Hong Kong (down -46.3%) and Brazil (down -39%).

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for cotton during 2016. 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.

1. China: US$7.3 billion (net export surplus down -288.9% since 2012)
2. India: $5.2 billion (down -33.4%)
3. United States: $4.7 billion (down -33.7%)
4. Pakistan: $1.4 billion (down -68.4%)
5. Brazil: $1.3 billion (down -34.3%)
6. Australia: $1.1 billion (down -57%)
7. Uzbekistan: $714.1 million (down -50.6%)
8. Turkmenistan: $445.7 million (down -7.1%)
9. Burkina Faso: $420.3 million (up 44.4%)
10. Greece: $325.1 million (down -43.6%)
11. Spain: $213.3 million (down -25.2%)
12. Italy: $188.4 million (down -61.1%)
13. Benin: $163.1 million (up 52.6%)
14. Hong Kong: $149.6 million (up 376%)
15. Cameroon: $147.1 million (up 7%)

China has the highest surplus in the international trade of cotton. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms China’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for cotton during 2016. 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.

1. Bangladesh: -US$4.7 billion (net export deficit down -19.7% since 2012)
2. Vietnam: -$1.5 billion (up 0.6%)
3. Indonesia: -$1.3 billion (down -27.1%)
4. Mexico: -$725.5 million (down -8.5%)
5. South Korea: -$656.1 million (down -26.9%)
6. Sri Lanka: -$643.2 million (up 6.6%)
7. Turkey: -$577 million (down -2.5%)
8. Cambodia: -$541.6 million (up 226.7%)
9. Morocco: -$484.2 million (down -15.5%)
10. Russia: -$417.9 million (down -22.2%)
11. Colombia: -$396.1 million (down -5.3%)
12. Portugal: -$391.2 million (up 12.8%)
13. Tunisia: -$381.5 million (down -44.8%)
14. Romania: -$366.3 million (down -19.5%)
15. United Arab Emirates: -$335.6 million (up 214.4%)

A world leader manufacturing clothing, Bangladesh incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of cotton. 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.

Searchable List of Cotton Exporting Countries

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