Cotton imports show steep slide in Feb

06 Apr '07

3 min read

Shandong and Jiangsu Provinces were still the major importers. Shandong Province imported 59,209 tons in February, with value up to about $78.598 million, total imports from January to February reached 94,542 tons, down 55.86 percent from the same time of the previous year.

Jiangsu Province imported 580,334 tons, an increase of 5.45 percent over the same time in 2006.

Imports by other regions, including Shanghai, Tianjin, and Beijing, decreased from the same time of previous year.

Delayed release of cotton import quotas was a major reason for this substantial decrease in February. At the beginning of the year, China released 894,000 tons of cotton import quotas, a markedly decline from last year's 2.394 million tons.

Increased domestic cotton production and relatively stable prices formed another reason for the reduction in cotton imports.

According to the State Statistical Bureau, China's cotton production for 2006/07 was estimated to reach 6.5 million tons, a substantial increase over 5.7 million tons, last year.

Meanwhile, central finance provided an allocation of 500 million yuan for quality cotton seed subsidies this year, which will stabilize cotton-planting area.

The new import sliding tax policy introduced from January 1, 2007 has further increased the price of imported cotton, making the post-tax price of imported cotton stay roughly at the same level of international market.

Moreover, Chinese Lunar New Year is in February, when cotton imports have been the lowest. Thus, compared to 2006, cotton imports showed the sharpest decline in February 2007.

Fibre2fashion, News Desk - China

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