China still leads in technical textiles

The global technical textile industry was estimated to be worth $142 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $165 billion by 2019. The vast majority of technical textiles come from APAC, which accounts for a share of almost half of the global technical textiles market. China is the largest producer of both woven and non-woven technical textiles in this region, and is responsible for 30 per cent of global production.

China’s technical textiles future is bright – with a large workforce, strong domestic market, and the advancements that it has experienced in textile technology makes the country a very strong competitor in the global technical textile industry. Despite setbacks in terms of reduced textile exports, these qualities have allowed China to continue to thrive in this area.

China’s leading position is followed by the Americas with 19 per cent of global production, India with 18 per cent, the EU with 16 per cent, and the rest of the world with 17 per cent. However, most of these regions lack the same benefits China has. For example, Chinese textile factories typically have more employees and equipment than Indian ones; on average, the size of Chinese textile companies is five times larger than companies in India.

The top three types of technical textiles are leading the industry for China. Medical textiles are currently experiencing the most demand in China’s technical textile industry, and accounts for a large portion of the country’s technical textile exports to countries in Europe and the Americas.