In recent years, the value of world textile exports has enjoyed steady if unspectacular growth. However, the production chains which service this demand continue to undergo change and consolidation. Though China, the EU and India remain the top three exporters of textiles, production and manufacture of products continues to shift towards South-East Asia and other developing economies, which have increasingly abandoned plans to invest in their own raw textile manufacturing capabilities and instead rely on imported products. These are largely obtained from China, which is shifting production away from apparel goods towards base textiles. China is therefore increasingly the primary source of textiles for the South-East Asian apparel-producing countries who subsequently manufacture and export finished products. However, demand from the automobile industry in developed economies has also seen carpet and industrial textile production lift in volume and value in the USA and the EU.

Conducting transactions across international borders can be daunting for relatively inexperienced textile traders, as the production, processing, customs and regulatory dimensions of products vary hugely between each one. Textile products and manufactured textiles can both often be subject to stringent tariffs, duties and quotas, as well as extensive customs checks, by economies seeking to protect their own manufacturing industries.  However, trade between countries is essential for textile producers to acquire the resources they require and traders to meet suppliers’ demand. TFG’s proven financial support structure for international traders can support these trade transactions.