From China to India: The Race to Dominate Global Fiber Production

The international fashion industry moves at the pace of consumer trends and also of sourcing. In the last six years, the international sourcing map has entered into crisis, with disruptions such as the pandemic, the Red Sea crisis or the tariff revolution provoked by the president of the United States, Donald Trump. In this new Insight, sponsored by Sevica, Modaes analyzes the current situation of sourcing in fashion, a sector that plays on a new board with geographical changes, means of transport and customs.

Read here the Insight
Sourcing, the new world board.

The fashion value chain goes a long way: garment making, weaving, spinning and, the first step of all, the production and cultivation of raw materials. From India’s dominance in cotton cultivation, to wool farms in Australia, to China’s extensive polyester production, who gives what on the world fiber map?

With consumption rising and fashion companies’ business growing, global fiber production reached record figures in 2024, to stand at 132 million tons, up 5.6% from 2023. Since 2000, when production was 58 million tons, global fiber production has more than doubled, and is expected to continue to grow to 169 million tons in 2030 if the growth curve continues at the pace set so far, according to the latest Textile Exchange report.

This increase has also been reflected in global fiber production per person. In 1975, it stood at around 8.3 kilograms per person, whereas in the latest results for 2024, it was estimated at 16.2 kilograms per person, and forecasts for 2030 stand at 19.4 kilograms. Globally, synthetic fibers have dominated the market since 1995: with around 91 million tons, the synthetic fiber category accounts for approximately 69% of global fiber production in 2024.

Polyester, in the top 1

Since 2010, polyester has surpassed cotton production, which was, until then, the most used fiber. Projections for 2030 are that polyester will account for more than 50% of the global market base. It has also been the largest contributor to the increase in global fiber production tons in recent years, replacing cotton as the fastest growing fiber type in the world since the 2000s.

Polyester alone accounted for 59% of the global fiber market in 2024, with approximately 77.7 million tons produced, of which 30% to 60% is used for apparel and up to 35% is used in home textiles.

With its advanced manufacturing infrastructure, access to raw materials and low labor costs, China claims the medal of the largest polyester producer, accounting for almost 60% of global production.

Cotton

World production of virgin cotton, the second most important fiber globally in terms of volume (with 19% of the world fiber market), has declined. The volume produced has fallen from 24.5 million tons recorded in the period 2022 to 2023 to 24.1 million tons between 2023 and 2024.

India tops the ranking as the world’s largest cotton producing country, with a total of 6.24 million tons, accounting for 25.85% of total production. By segment, up to 70% of the world’s cotton production is destined for apparel and up to 30% for home textiles.

In Europe, a market where before globalization cotton was a key commodity in some economies, the bulk of production is in Greece, which produces around 200,000 tons of raw material per year. In Spain, the second largest producer of this fiber in the European Union, around 21,000 tons of cotton are produced, mainly in the Spanish region of Andalusia.

Polyamide and cellulose fibers

Although far behind polyester’s share, polyamide, also known as nylon, accounts for 7 million tons, comprising 5% of the global fiber market. This percentage includes polypurene, acrylic and elastane, which account for 5% of the global fiber market, with a combined total volume of 6.3 million tons. Due to its industrial capacity, China is the main producer and consumer of polyurethane and acrylic fiber, generating approximately 68.7% of the global volume.

As for elastane, once again the Chinese giant, together with Japan and South Korea, accounted for 75% of world production. Cellulosic fibers, beyond cotton and obtained through plants, share a global market share of 24% in 2024, with a production volume of 31.3 million tons.

With a market share of 6%, handmade cellulose fibers produced in 2024 made up around 8.4 million tons. Viscose was the largest of these, with around 6.7 million tons, ranking with 5% of global production and as one of the most widely used alternatives to polyester in the textile sector.

Other plant fibers, which include hemp, flax, and ramie, had a combined market share of around 5%, with 6.9 million tons produced in 2024. The bulk of the planting of these fibers is concentrated in Europe: France stands as the largest producer of hemp fiber with almost half of total production, as well as flax, which, together with Belgium and the Netherlands, make up around 75% of the world’s fibers.

Leather, wool and silk

Leather, encompassing cow, sheep, goat and buffalo skins, had an estimated global production volume of 13.8 million tons in 2024. Cowhides were the most widely used, with an estimated production of 9.4 million tons, followed by sheepskins with 2.2 million tons, goat skins with 1.5 million tons and buffalo skins with 0.8 million tons.

Around 50% of the world’s leather production is used for the footwear sector, another 10% for clothing, 15% for home textiles, and the rest is used in other applications, such as leather goods, the automotive industry and other products.

Wool accounts for approximately one million tons of virgin wool, the vast majority of which is produced in Australia. In contrast, silk, another of the most widely used fibers in the sector, reached a volume of 91,000 tons, with 55% of production concentrated in China and 40% in India.