South Asia stands out not just as one of the most densely populated regions globally but also as an emerging powerhouse in the textile and garment market. Favored by factors such as an abundance of affordable labor, water resources, and raw materials for textile production, coupled with significant cotton output, geographical proximity to expanding markets, among other advantages, South Asia has positioned itself as a potential global hub for textile and clothing exports.
Countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and the European Union heavily rely on textile imports from South Asian nations, prompting the relocation of textile manufacturing units to these cost-effective destinations. Leading the pack in textile exports are South Asian nations, including India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. A substantial portion of their textile and apparel exports finds its way to the U.S. and EU markets.
As per the Apparel Export Promotion Council report, India's textile exports reached $40 billion in 2013, constituting 5.2% of the $772 billion global textile exports. India's share in the global textiles market witnessed an impressive growth of 17.5% in 2013, outshining the global growth rate of 4.7%. This outstanding growth, at 23%, surpassed that of China and Bangladesh, propelling India to become the world's second-largest textile exporter, surpassing Germany and Italy.
Textiles, encompassing everything from yarn to various fabrics like silk, cotton, wool, and apparel, showcase India among the top five global clothing suppliers. With apparel exports accounting for 3.7% of global ready-made garment exports, India secured the sixth position in the global trade of ready-made garments, with $16 billion in exports in 2013.
Bangladesh, leveraging cheap labor and duty-free access to Western markets, has claimed the title of the world's second-largest apparel exporter after China. In 2013, 60% of Bangladesh's garment production was exported to Europe, and 23% to the U.S. The country experienced a 13% increase in garment exports in 2013 and 11% in the previous year. The textile export data for Bangladesh illustrates higher exports of woven fabric and other vegetable textile fabric to the U.S. and EU, while cotton exports to the U.S. remain relatively low.
Pakistan's textile and apparel industry serves as the backbone of its economy, contributing over 67% to total export earnings, thanks to substantial cotton production. Not only does this sector generate revenue, but it also employs over 38% of the manufacturing labor force. Recent investments in textile and garment machinery, totaling $4 billion, have significantly enhanced productivity and quality, leading to a notable growth rate of 66.29% in the current financial year. The Pakistani government aims for textile and garment exports to exceed $10 billion.
The transfer of global textile industry capacity, coupled with strong support from local policies, has opened up new growth space for textile machinery in South Asia. As a well-known Chinese textile machinery enterprise, SUNTECH Textile Machinery has been deeply involved in intelligent machinery for 50 years. The company has developed and produced textile machinery such as fabric inspection machine, automatic packaging machine, and motorized beam trolley. SUNTECH has over 10,000 customers and 50,000 machines success installed worldwide, providing professional intelligent equipment to many international textile enterprises and contributing to the world textile industry.