Overall, the value of cotton bought by all importing countries rose by an average 17% from 5 years earlier in 2020 when globally imported cotton was valued at $40.7 billion.
Year over year, the value of worldwide cotton imports inflated by 4.2% compared to $45.75 billion starting from 2023.
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 2024.
From a continental perspective, countries located in Asia bought over two-thirds (69.5%) of overall cotton imports.
Smaller percentages of the global total were imported by cotton buyers based in Europe (13.2%), Africa (8%), Latin America (5.5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, North America (3.6%) 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 2024.
- mainland China: US$9.3 billion (19.6% of total imported cotton)
- Bangladesh: $7.7 billion (16.2%)
- Vietnam: $4.8 billion (10.2%)
- Türkiye: $2.4 billion (5%)
- Indonesia: $1.5 billion (3.1%)
- India: $1.2 billion (2.6%)
- Italy: $953.8 million (2%)
- Russia: $946.5 million (2%)
- Pakistan: $906.53 million (1.9%)
- Egypt: $868.47 million (1.8%)
- United States: $814.9 million (1.7%)
- Mexico: $805.8 million (1.7%)
- South Korea: $786.4 million (1.7%)
- Cambodia: $766 million (1.6%)
- Nigeria: $673.3 million (1.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 72.5% of all cotton imported in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for cotton from 2023 to 2024 were: Nigeria (up 2,978%), India (up 49.9%), Cambodia (up 36.3%) and Egypt (up 26%).
Those countries that posted declines in their imported cotton purchases were led by: Türkiye (down -13.4% from 2023), Italy (down -9.8%), Pakistan (down -7.7%) and South Korea (down -4.6%).
Searchable List of Cotton Importing Countries in 2024
The 100 major importers of cotton in the table below represent 99.2% of the overall amount spent on imported cotton during 2024.
| Rank | Importer | Cotton Imports | 2023-4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | mainland China | $9,335,735,000 | +3.9% |
| 2. | Bangladesh | $7,738,424,000 | +8.8% |
| 3. | Vietnam | $4,843,115,000 | +14% |
| 4. | Türkiye | $2,377,674,000 | -13.4% |
| 5. | Indonesia | $1,492,612,000 | -1.8% |
| 6. | India | $1,217,635,000 | +49.9% |
| 7. | Italy | $953,789,000 | -9.8% |
| 8. | Russia | $946,507,000 | +24.3% |
| 9. | Pakistan | $906,528,000 | -7.7% |
| 10. | Egypt | $868,467,000 | +26% |
| 11. | United States | $814,937,000 | 0% |
| 12. | Mexico | $805,816,000 | -1.3% |
| 13. | South Korea | $786,444,000 | -4.6% |
| 14. | Cambodia | $766,003,000 | +36.3% |
| 15. | Nigeria | $673,325,000 | +2978% |
| 16. | Germany | $641,277,000 | -13.3% |
| 17. | Sri Lanka | $597,649,000 | +14.8% |
| 18. | Portugal | $584,213,000 | +4.2% |
| 19. | Morocco | $523,245,000 | -13.7% |
| 20. | Thailand | $489,970,000 | -13.5% |
| 21. | Guatemala | $471,509,000 | +19.5% |
| 22. | Colombia | $446,866,000 | +31.5% |
| 23. | Tunisia | $416,386,000 | -32.2% |
| 24. | Spain | $407,322,000 | +2.6% |
| 25. | France | $402,105,000 | -17% |
| 26. | Malaysia | $381,614,000 | -8.7% |
| 27. | Dominican Republic | $380,474,000 | -10.8% |
| 28. | Japan | $374,145,000 | -11.6% |
| 29. | Peru | $362,194,000 | +18.3% |
| 30. | United Arab Emirates | $361,516,000 | +111.3% |
| 31. | Hong Kong | $258,119,000 | -10.3% |
| 32. | Austria | $256,469,000 | -24% |
| 33. | United Kingdom | $239,511,000 | -10.6% |
| 34. | Poland | $230,733,000 | -12.6% |
| 35. | Mali | $217,181,000 | +1279% |
| 36. | El Salvador | $213,457,000 | -0.2% |
| 37. | Romania | $209,375,000 | -19.6% |
| 38. | Iran | $209,352,000 | -53.5% |
| 39. | Brazil | $191,601,000 | +35.1% |
| 40. | Netherlands | $178,271,000 | -7.8% |
| 41. | Ghana | $167,992,000 | +755.5% |
| 42. | Belgium | $143,880,000 | -27.6% |
| 43. | South Africa | $143,826,000 | +7% |
| 44. | Taiwan | $143,699,000 | -36.6% |
| 45. | Madagascar | $127,509,000 | +14.6% |
| 46. | Bulgaria | $123,908,000 | +2.3% |
| 47. | Haiti | $123,168,000 | -13.3% |
| 48. | Myanmar | $122,705,000 | -14.3% |
| 49. | Czech Republic | $118,863,000 | -15.6% |
| 50. | Mauritius | $115,059,000 | +2.2% |
| 51. | Ukraine | $109,061,000 | -7.2% |
| 52. | Nicaragua | $98,377,000 | -48.3% |
| 53. | Canada | $91,191,000 | -4.3% |
| 54. | Jordan | $90,024,000 | +354.8% |
| 55. | Switzerland | $86,655,000 | -27.7% |
| 56. | Nepal | $82,360,000 | -8.9% |
| 57. | Algeria | $74,702,000 | -3.5% |
| 58. | Philippines | $74,049,000 | -32.7% |
| 59. | Greece | $71,602,000 | -17.9% |
| 60. | Ecuador | $64,179,000 | -9.9% |
| 61. | Kenya | $62,197,000 | +27.6% |
| 62. | Belarus | $59,588,000 | +3.3% |
| 63. | Paraguay | $59,553,000 | +15.3% |
| 64. | Hungary | $59,503,000 | +0.3% |
| 65. | Serbia | $55,012,000 | -15.9% |
| 66. | Argentina | $54,234,000 | -34.2% |
| 67. | Denmark | $51,031,000 | +9.2% |
| 68. | Kazakhstan | $50,247,000 | -14.9% |
| 69. | Costa Rica | $50,135,000 | +27.5% |
| 70. | Uzbekistan | $50,034,000 | +43.3% |
| 71. | North Macedonia | $49,741,000 | -24.8% |
| 72. | Albania | $48,548,000 | -25% |
| 73. | Israel | $46,460,000 | -5.2% |
| 74. | Australia | $46,076,000 | -8.4% |
| 75. | Lithuania | $45,104,000 | -5.9% |
| 76. | Lesotho | $43,610,000 | -18.7% |
| 77. | Guinea | $42,732,000 | -16% |
| 78. | Chile | $38,881,000 | +3.2% |
| 79. | Afghanistan | $38,875,000 | +36.1% |
| 80. | Togo | $38,312,000 | -20.5% |
| 81. | Saudi Arabia | $35,573,000 | -9.6% |
| 82. | Croatia | $32,614,000 | -10% |
| 83. | Venezuela | $32,457,000 | +15.6% |
| 84. | Ivory Coast | $31,646,000 | -9.3% |
| 85. | Tanzania | $30,024,000 | +8.3% |
| 86. | Cameroon | $28,471,000 | +305.1% |
| 87. | Sweden | $28,236,000 | -7.1% |
| 88. | Eswatini | $28,112,000 | -54% |
| 89. | Congo | $27,377,000 | +1714% |
| 90. | Lebanon | $26,676,000 | +163.8% |
| 91. | Estonia | $26,219,000 | -11.1% |
| 92. | Moldova | $22,279,000 | -6.8% |
| 93. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $22,264,000 | -21.1% |
| 94. | Turkmenistan | $21,475,000 | -30.5% |
| 95. | Armenia | $21,189,000 | -1.9% |
| 96. | Slovakia | $20,956,000 | -22.3% |
| 97. | Benin | $18,515,000 | -27.8% |
| 98. | Djibouti | $17,879,000 | +341.7% |
| 99. | Norway | $17,550,000 | +14% |
| 100. | Singapore | $16,997,000 | -24% |
Enlarging the scope to encompass the 100 major importers, the strongest increases in purchases of imported cotton were posted by buyers in: Nigeria (up 2,978% from 2023), Congo (up 1,714%), Mali (up 1,279%), Ghana (up 755.5%) and Jordan (up 354.8%).
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 2023 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 August 18, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 18, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 18, 2025
Wikipedia, Cotton. Accessed on August 18, 2025