-A brief overview of cotton yarn imports across the country

Driven by the cotton target price policy, domestic cotton prices have declined, the price difference between domestic and foreign cotton has narrowed, and domestic companies’ enthusiasm for imported cotton yarn has gradually subsided. From January to June, the country’s total textile and apparel imports totaled US$12.97 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%; of which cotton yarn imports accounted for 24.1%, and the import volume experienced negative growth, a year-on-year decrease of 0.8%, to US$3.12 billion.
The characteristics of cotton yarn imports in the first half of this year are as follows:
1. From January to June 2014, the growth rate of my country’s total cotton yarn imports slowed down significantly.
From January to June, the country’s total cotton yarn imports were 988,000 tons, an increase of only 2.3%, which was significantly slower than the 45.8% increase in the same period last year. There were four months of negative growth in the first half of the year. Among them, 181,000 tons were imported in January, down 0.6% year-on-year; imports in February were 153,000 tons less than in January, but an increase of 49.8% compared with the same period last year; imports in March were 178,000 tons, a decrease of 10.7% year-on-year; and imports in April were 182,000 tons. tons, an increase of 11%; import volumes in May and June hit new lows this year, 152,000 tons and 141,000 tons respectively, down 11.3% and 3.3% respectively year-on-year.
2. From a single month perspective, the unit price of cotton yarn imports in the first half of the year basically showed an upward trend, with a year-on-year decline in each month.
The average import price of cotton yarn in the first six months was US$3.16/kg, down 3.1% year-on-year. The import unit price has been on the rise since February this year. In February, it was 3.08 US dollars/kg, down 1.2% year-on-year. In March and April, it averaged 3.17 US dollars/kg, down 1.5% and 4% respectively. In May, it further rose to 3.18 US dollars/kg. kg, down 4% year-on-year; the unit price in June hit a new high this year, at US$3.21/kg, down 2.7% from the same period last year.
3. The growth of my country’s cotton yarn imports from India has slowed down, while imports from Vietnam have good momentum.
India, Pakistan, and Vietnam are the top three source markets for China’s cotton yarn imports. This year, my country’s imports of cotton yarn from India have slowed down, while imports from Pakistan have shown negative growth, while imports from Vietnam have a good growth momentum. From January to June, my country’s cotton yarn imports from India accounted for 29% of the total import volume, which was 286,000 tons, an increase of 6.6%; the average import price was 3.1 US dollars/kg, a year-on-year decrease of 3.8%. Imports of 239,000 tons of cotton yarn from Pakistan accounted for 24.2%, a year-on-year decrease of 20.5%; the average import price was US$2.8/kg, a decrease of 4.4%. Vietnam ranked third, with an import volume of 167,000 tons, accounting for 16.9%. The growth momentum was considerable, with a year-on-year increase of 64.5% in the first six months; the average import price was US$3.24/kg, a year-on-year decrease of 10.4%.
Among the remaining 10 major import source countries, Uzbekistan has the fastest growth, with an increase of 115.4%, and import volume of nearly 35,000 tons. Indonesia and South Korea increased by 41.3% and 8.2% respectively, with import quantities of 38,000 tons and 16,000 tons respectively. From January to June, imports from the United States and Thailand were 19,000 tons, a decrease of 40.9% and 4.2% compared with the same period last year.
4. Guangdong is China’s largest importer of cotton yarn, but its imports have shown negative growth.
From January to June, three major provinces and cities imported more than 100,000 tons of cotton yarn, accounting for a total of 60.9%. Among them, Guangdong’s import growth was negative, importing 288,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 17%, and the import unit price was US$3.46. /kg, down 0.6%; Zhejiang imported 167,000 tons, an increase of 16.9%, and the import price was US$2.99/kg; Beijing imported 148,000 tons, down 8.5%, and the import price was US$2.91/kg. Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Shandong imported 92,000 tons, 87,000 tons, and 82,000 tons respectively, with growth rates slowing down by 18%, 16.5%, and 31.7% respectively; Fujian imported 51,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%; Anhui and Xinjiang increased by 100% respectively. and 127.9%.