Wrapping the World with Yarn!

With an annual export value of $2.1 billion, Türkiye ranks as the fifth largest yarn exporter in the world. Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States are the top three markets for Türkiye’s yarn exports.

The Global Yarn Foreign Trade 2023 Report prepared by the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Association (İTHİB) focuses on wool and cotton yarns, as well as yarns made from plant fibers, SSE filament yarns, and SSE staple yarns. According to the report, global yarn exports decreased by 11.2% in 2023, totaling $46.6 billion. Over the past decade, global yarn exports have shown fluctuating trends, with a notable decline of $7.6 billion. In 2013, global yarn exports were $54.3 billion, decreasing by 4.6% to $52.4 billion in 2022, and further dropping to $46.6 billion in 2023.

Türkiye: The World’s Fifth Largest Yarn Exporter

Among leading countries in global yarn exports, China tops the list with a 29.4% share and $13.7 billion in exports. Notably, China’s exports decreased by 8.8% in 2023. Türkiye, positioned as the world’s fifth-largest yarn exporter, achieved $2.1 billion in yarn exports with a 4.5% share in 2023.

The report also examines the yarn product groups based on subcategories, observing increases or decreases in these subcategories. Synthetic filament yarns lead the export categories with a 46.7% share. In 2023, China led the export of synthetic staple yarns with a 35.8% share, although its exports decreased by 16.9% to $2.6 billion. Indonesia, with a 9.5% share and $691 million in exports, is second, while Türkiye is the third largest exporter in this category, with a 9.2% share and exports dropping by 13.9% to $670 million.

Italy: The Most Important Market for Yarn Exports

When examining Türkiye’s yarn exports by country, Italy ranks first with a 10.3% share. Türkiye’s yarn exports to Italy decreased by 31.5% in 2023, totaling $218 million. Exports to the United Kingdom, which is second on the list, increased by 3.3% to $170 million. Other major yarn export destinations include the United States, Egypt, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, and Morocco, with notable growth in exports to the Netherlands by 12.6%.

Türkiye’s most exported yarn subcategory is synthetic filament yarns, with a 39% share. Synthetic staple yarns account for 31.7%, cotton yarns for 27.2%, and wool and animal hair yarns for 1.8%. Yarn from plant fibers holds a 0.6% share, and silk yarns account for 0.01%.

Global Yarn Imports Decline

The report also highlights that global yarn imports have generally declined over the past decade, except in 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022. In 2023, global yarn imports fell by 15.5% to $46.2 billion. China remains the largest importer with a 12.9% share and $5.9 billion in imports, while Türkiye ranks second. In 2023, Türkiye’s yarn imports decreased by 29.3% to $2.8 billion. The rankings for yarn imports are Bangladesh, Italy, India, Vietnam, the United States, South Korea, Germany, and Egypt.

INFO Türkiye’s Yarn Exports Over the Years (in million dollars):

2019: 1,810

2020: 1,625

2021: 2,695

2022: 2,576

2023: 2,113