Date: 2008-12-05 13:16 Source: China Cotton Association
According to customs statistics, from January to October in this year, China imported 1,866,000-ton cotton worth of USD 3.11 billion. As compared with the same period of last year (similarly hereinafter), the former figure is decreased by 8.3%, while the latter is increased by 10.1%; the average import price arrives at USD 1667/ton, increased by 20%. The import volume thereof in October was 96,000 tons, worth of USD 170 million, respectively decreased by 29.8% and 18.2%.
Main features of cotton's import into China from January to October this year
(I) Cotton is mainly imported via the general trade and the entrepot trade at bonded areas. From January to October in this year, 651,000 tons of cotton were imported into China via the general trade, decreased by 22.5%, while the cotton imported via the entrepot trade at bonded areas reached 494,000 tons, increased by 11.2%, both of which added up to 61.4% of the total import volume into China as compared with the same period of last year.
(II) China's cotton is mainly imported from the United States, India and Uzbekistan. From January to October in this year, 826,000 tons of cotton were imported into China from the United States, decreased by 18.8%; 570,000 tons from India, increased by 34.4%; and 166,000 tons from Uzbekistan, decreased by 15.8%, all of which added up to 83.7% of the total import volume into China as compared with the same period of last year.
(III) Cotton imported by private enterprises accounts for half of the total. From January to October in this year, private enterprises imported 990,000 tons of cotton, increased by 1.1%, which accounted for 53.1% of the total import volume into China as compared with the same period of last year; state-owned enterprises imported 508,000 tons of cotton, decreased by 18.4%; foreign-invested enterprises imported 369,000 tons of cotton, decreased by 14.5%.
When the financial crisis is continuously rambling over the whole world, the economy in the Europe and America is let down to a greater or less extent. As the demand in the international market continues dropping, China's textile industry is confronted with stern challenges. At present, two-third of enterprises in the textile industry of China can only obtain 0.6% profit margins and quite many enterprises are staggering at the edge of bankruptcy, thus directly resulting in the decline of demand for cotton. Although major cotton producing areas in China gain harvests, the acquisition of new cotton still lapsed into great difficulty because of rising growing costs, shortage of acquisition funds and the recession of downstream textile industry in particular, etc. In the meanwhile, the domestic cotton price continues falling. On 31st October, Chinas' cotton price index was 11,746 Yuan/ton, decreased 336 Yuan/ton as compared with last week; in October, the average rate of China's cotton price index was 12,322 Yuan/ton, decreased 855 Yuan/ton as compared with this September. In a bit to stabilize prices, a series of polices on cotton acquisition and storage are carried out by the state, but the recovery of cotton market still needs some time.
