China’s cotton yarn imports fall back in Apr 2024

I. China's cotton yarn imports totaled 110.9kt in Apr

According to the latest customs data, China's cotton yarn imports in Apr 2024 dropped sharply from the previous high of around 170,000 tons to 110,900 tons, down by approximately 58,800 tons compared to March, a decrease of about 35%. This import level is roughly on par with the volume of cotton yarn imports in April 2023. Upon the release of this data, market feedback largely aligns with industry expectations. The arrival volumes of cotton yarn from various producing regions in April notably decreased. Additionally, some yarn mills experienced delays in shipment deliveries, causing a postponement in arrivals until April.

From the perspective of import costs, in April, the unit price of cotton yarn imports rose to around $2.48/kg. As a result, the cost-effectiveness of imports is harder to compare with the previous period. Nevertheless, with the further rise in overseas cotton prices around the Chinese New Year holiday, the window for cotton yarn imports is gradually closing. Most domestic traders have completed their replenishment processes or are only maintaining the minimum circulation volume for downstream customers. It is expected that the unit cost of cotton yarn imports in May will continue to rise slightly, highlighting the relative disadvantage of imported cotton yarn compared to domestic yarn prices.

II China's cotton yarn imports by origin in Apr 2024

In Apr 2024, Vietnamese yarn leads by a large proportion with a relatively stable import volume of 54,600 tons. Meanwhile, Pakistani yarn sharply declined to 11,400 tons from previous around 30,000 tons (a 10% decrease). The substantial reduction in imports was mainly due to intensive price increases by Pakistani yarn mills after the Chinese New Year. Uzbekistani yarn also saw a decrease in import volume in April, dropping to 13,700 tons (a 12% decrease), with a month-on-month decline of 53% compared to March. Indian yarn imports in April decreased to around 13,900 tons, reducing by 10,900 tons compared to March. Overall, the domestic demand for cotton yarn imports in China remains sensitive to price, leading to a period of reduced ordering activity during the phase of increasing international yarn prices.

III China's cotton yarn imports by structure in Apr 2024

The import share of carded single yarn 8-25s continued to decline to 47.76%, totaling approximately 53,000 tons, with a decrease of over 30,000 tons compared to March. The import share of carded single yarn 25-30s dropped to 2.79%, totaling around 3,099 tons, almost halving due to recent tight supply. The import share of carded single yarn 30-47s decreased to 12.51%, totaling 13,810 tons. Overall, there is a trend of import specifications shifting towards carded single yarn below 8s and combed yarn 30-47s.

IV. China's blended cotton yarn imports in Apr 2024

In April 2024, China's imports of blended cotton yarn totaled around 13,480 tons, a decrease of approximately 2,000 tons compared to March. However, the overall decrease in blended cotton yarn imports was much smaller than that of cotton yarn imports. About 82.5% of the blended cotton yarn imports came from Vietnam, with the proportion remaining relatively stable. When compared with import volumes in previous years, blended cotton yarn imports typically sees a significant decline in Apr, although the total monthly import volume tends to increase year by year. Currently, Vietnamese yarn mills are facing continued losses in cotton yarn production, leading to a gradual increase in blended yarn production. In April, Guangdong Province's import share surpassed Zhejiang, totaling 4,565 tons, accounting for approximately 33.9%. Zhejiang's share decreased to 29.42%, while Shanghai's import share surged to 17.71%, placing it in third position. The most significant decrease in blended cotton yarn imports was observed in Fujian Province, totaling 1,167 tons, accounting for 8.66%.