Recently one of my answers in the Alibaba Resource Forum was awarded the best answer. The title link lands to that page. In the answer I extracted information from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)  about the producing, consuming, exporting and  importing country ranks delaing with cotton.
 

According to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) the list goes like this:

Cotton PRODUCERS (growers) Ranks - China, USA, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Turkey.

Cotton CONSUMERS Ranks - China, India, Pakistan, USA, Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia.

Cotton EXPORTERS Ranks - USA, Uzbekistan, Australia, Brazil, Mali, Greece, Burkina Faso.

Cotton IMPORTERS Ranks - China, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Thailand, Mexico, Bangladesh


China is the major player for cotton in the world. But, the demand for Cotton in China is also immense. Therefore, they have to import cotton as well. The fact that makes USA the major exporter of cotton, is they produce more than their consumption, this is also true for Uzbekistan.

And the reason Bangladesh, Mexico, Pakistan, and Thailand are in the top importer list is because they have the most demandable textile industries that work as a hub for high quality and low cost yarns and fabrics.

However, the rank of Bangladesh as a Cotton Importing country may rise up the ladder due to more than 100% growth in the Knitwear industry recently. This fact can easily tell us how big is the Bangladesh's Garments Industry.