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Among the natural fibers viz cotton, wool and silk, cotton constitutes nearly 95%, wool 4% and silk less than 1%. In 2004, cotton production grew by 27%(26,215 thousand tons was produced),wool production declined by 2% (1,215 thousand tons) and silk production was steady at 97 thousand tons.

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Of all the chemical/synthetic fibers, polyester fibers constitute the major component, with a share of about 76% in 2004. It was 37% in 1980. With the advent of polyester, nylon & acrylic fibers have been witnessing a decline in share. Nylon's share fell from 25% in 1980 to 14% in 2004. Likewise, acrylic fiber share for the same period fell from 15% to 9%.

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The textile importing countries comprising mainly the European countries saw a sharp rise in wage rates of over 10% per annum from 2000 until the dismantling of quotas. Wages had declined considerably there between 1995 and 2000. In similar comparison, wages in USA were rising at a steady rate of 3% per annum.

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The labour cost in importing countries like Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and US is substantially higher than the exporting countries like Korea, Taiwan and Mexico.

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In 2005, EU's import of T&C from China increased 42% in Euros, but in 2006 (Jan-Apr) it slowed down to just 11% due to restrictions.Hongkong, Mexico, Vietnam, Kazakistan and Honduras recorded high growth rates while Japan, South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Uzbekistan lost substantially. Top 5 exporters to EU were China (26%), Turkey (15%), India (9%), Bangladesh (6%) and Romania (5%).

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China emerged as the largest beneficiary in the post quota era. It's share in World textile trade increased from 17% in 2002 to 24% in 2005. South Asia, comprising India, Pakistan, SriLanka and Bangladesh was the 2nd largest beneficiary in the quota-free textile trade.