China, Bangladesh and Vietnam's combined share of global textile exports.
New ICAC trade data shows Bangladesh has climbed from 14th to the world's second-largest garment exporter since 2006, with Vietnam advancing to third place. Together, China, Bangladesh and Vietnam now account for roughly 44% of global textile exports — a level of concentration that makes all three countries' manufacturing conditions directly material to buyers everywhere.
Bangladesh's rise in particular reflects two decades of sustained capacity investment, though the country's factory landscape remains genuinely uneven — some of the most modern, LEED-certified garment factories in the world sit not far from facilities with far less mature safety and compliance infrastructure. Vietnam's growth has been comparatively steadier, helped by trade agreements and a reputation for tighter quality consistency, though rising labour costs are starting to push some buyers to look at Cambodia and Indonesia as the next tier.
For sourcing teams, the takeaway isn't simply “Bangladesh and Vietnam are growing” — it's that growth at this pace tends to outrun quality infrastructure in specific pockets. A factory doubling its export volume in three years is not necessarily doubling its QA headcount at the same rate.
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