Greece emerged as the undisputed leader of cotton production in the European Union, covering around 80% of total EU output, but it remained a regional player globally with no meaningful influence on international pricing.
A market study on Italy’s cotton sector, prepared by the Economic and Commercial Affairs Office of the Greek Embassy in Rome, highlighted Greece’s dominant role inside Europe while stressing the country’s limited weight on the world stage.
The study said Greece and Spain remained the only EU countries with significant cotton production, while Italy and Portugal had stopped producing cotton.
Despite Greece’s leading European position, the report noted that global cotton production remained overwhelmingly controlled by far larger producers, including China, India, Brazil and the United States.
Using the latest available 2025 data, the study said China accounted for 25.6% of global cotton production at roughly 30 million bales, followed by India with 20.1% (23.5 million bales), Brazil with 15.6% (18.25 million bales), and the United States with 12% (14 million bales). Pakistan, Australia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Argentina and Mali followed, each holding less than 5%.
The study said USDA Foreign Agricultural Service data also placed the European Union at only 1% of global cotton production.
Based on estimates showing the EU produced around 1.24 million bales in 2024–2025, and Greece supplied roughly 80% of that total, the report estimated Greek cotton output at around one million bales annually.
The embassy study said Greece did not act as a global price setter in international trade. However, it described Greek cotton as high quality and strategically important for Europe’s textile industry due to the stability and uniformity of its fibres.
The report argued that Europe’s strength in the cotton sector did not come from raw material production, but from processing, manufacturing and fashion.
