The garment and textile industry in Thailand is undergoing a significant structural shift as of the first quarter of 2026. According to data from the sourcing intelligence tool TexPro, the nation’s total textile imports fell by 7.1 percent year-on-year, dropping to $562.56 million from $605.47 million in the same period of 2025. While the overall import volume has dipped, the internal composition of these imports reveals a growing reliance on processed textile inputs rather than raw materials.
The share of fabric in Thailand’s total textile imports climbed to 56.44 percent in the first quarter of 2026, up from 54.99 percent a year earlier and 51.40 percent in 2023. In contrast, the share of fiber imports declined to 12.91 percent, down from 14.80 percent in the first quarter of 2025 and 18.06 percent in 2023. This changing composition suggests that Thai manufacturers are increasingly focusing on sourcing intermediary materials that can be converted into higher-value apparel, reinforcing the country's evolving role as a downstream manufacturing hub within regional supply chains.
Conversely, Thailand’s textile export sector is facing steeper challenges. Textile shipments declined by 8.7 percent year-on-year to $591.50 million in the first quarter of 2026, down from $648.01 million the previous year. This sharper decline in exports compared to imports indicates that international demand remains sluggish, even as domestic processing activity remains relatively active.
Fabric remains Thailand's largest export category, contributing 40.05 percent of total exports, followed closely by fiber at 39.63 percent. With fiber exports totaling $234.41 million—nearly matching fabric exports of $236.87 million—Thailand maintains significant strength in upstream materials despite the subdued global market. Consequently, the country’s textile trade surplus narrowed to $28.94 million for the quarter, down from $42.54 million in the first quarter of 2025. This shrinking surplus highlights the pressure on export-oriented producers in an environment of constrained international demand. Ultimately, these trends point to a Thai textile sector that is becoming increasingly dependent on imported intermediary goods to support value-added manufacturing while navigating a difficult global export climate.
