Quarterly national cotton yarn import profile

In January this year, domestic cotton prices showed a downward trend, increased slightly in February, and fell slightly in March. Affected by cotton policy adjustments, cotton prices dropped significantly in April. As of April 24, the domestic cotton price index 3128B is 17,943 yuan/ton, the lowest price since the implementation of the new cotton standards. Correspondingly, the price difference between domestic and foreign cotton showed a narrowing trend from January to April, and the price difference fell significantly in April. As of April 24, the price difference between domestic and foreign cotton had dropped to 2,163 yuan/ton.
From January to March, the country’s total textile and apparel imports were US$6.23 billion, of which cotton yarn imports accounted for 25.8%, with an import value of US$1.61 billion.
1. In March 2014, my country’s cotton yarn imports fell in both volume and price compared with the same period last year.
In the first quarter, the country’s total cotton yarn imports were 513,000 tons, a small increase of 5.9%. 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, down 10.7% year-on-year. The unit price of cotton yarn imports has been on a downward trend since May last year, falling to US$3.08/kg in February this year. The average price in March increased from February to US$3.17/kg, down 1.5% year-on-year.
2. India, Pakistan, and Vietnam are the main source countries for China’s cotton yarn imports.
India, Pakistan, and Vietnam are the top three source markets for China’s cotton yarn imports. From January to March, they together accounted for 70.6% of my country’s cotton yarn imports. Throughout last year, my country’s cotton yarn imports from India maintained a growth rate of more than double. This year’s growth slowed down compared to last year. In the first quarter, 164,000 tons were imported, an increase of 10.9%; the average import price was US$3.09/kg, a year-on-year decrease of 3.4%. Imports of 124,000 tons of cotton yarn from Pakistan dropped 19.9% ​​year-on-year; the average import price was US$2.79/kg, down 3%. Vietnam ranks third, with an import volume of 74,000 tons. The growth momentum this year is relatively impressive, with a year-on-year increase of 64.8% in the first three months.
Among the remaining top ten import source countries, Uzbekistan has experienced the fastest growth, with an increase of 120.6% and an import volume of nearly 16,000 tons. The growth rates of Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea were 57.3%, 22.3% and 9.1% respectively, and the import quantities were 19,000 tons, 11,000 tons and 9,000 tons respectively. In the first quarter, nearly 11,000 tons were imported from the United States, a decrease of 17.9% compared with the same period last year.
3. Guangdong, Beijing, and Zhejiang are the main importers of cotton yarn in China.
From January to March, three major provinces and cities imported more than 80,000 tons of cotton yarn, accounting for a total of 62.7%. Among them, Guangdong’s import growth was negative, importing 151,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 14.3%, and the import unit price was US$3.4/kg. ; Beijing ranked second, importing 87,000 tons, an increase of 7.1%; followed by Zhejiang, importing 83,000 tons, an increase of 8.6%. Jiangsu and Shandong both imported more than 40,000 tons, an increase of 36.5% and 38.7% respectively; Fujian imported 26,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 16.5%; Anhui, Tianjin, and Xinjiang all increased by about 1 times.