Cotton yarn arrivals rebound with imports from Uzbekistan increasing

I. China's cotton yarn imports totaled 116.3kt in Jul

In July 2024, China's cotton yarn imports ended a several-month decline, with a total of 116.3kt arrivals, an increase of approximately 19.7kt compared to June. However, it still reflects a year-on-year decrease of nearly 30kt compared to July of last year. As the arrival of cotton in the Northern Hemisphere gradually increases in the second half of the year, overseas yarn prices are likely to decline, which is expected to lead to an increase in domestic market procurement. From Jan-Jul 2024, China's total import of cotton yarn reached 817.8kt, still higher by 53.5kt compared to the cumulative import volume of the same period last year. However, the gap between the two years is continuously narrowing.

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

In July 2024, imports of cotton yarn from Vietnam continued to account for over half of China's total imports. Due to a recent longer ordering window, subsequent shipments of cotton yarn are expected to continue arriving until October. Additionally, as domestic cotton prices remain sluggish, domestic cotton yarn-especially from large mills-is being sold off continuously, making it increasingly difficult for imported yarn to maintain a price advantage. In contrast, Uzbekistani cotton yarn, with slightly lower export prices compared to Vietnam and India, continues to attract replenishment from Chinese buyers. In July, imports from Uzbekistan totaled approximately 17.6kt, nearly doubling compared to June's import volume, raising its market share to 15%. Imports of Pakistani cotton yarn saw a slight increase in July, reaching 14.1kt, but its overall market share continued to decline to around 12%. Meanwhile, imports of cotton yarn from India in July was approximately 7.8kt, reflecting an increase of about 2kt compared to June.

III China's cotton yarn imports by structure and by origin in Jul 2024

Currently, despite a certain increase in the monthly import volume of foreign cotton yarn in the domestic market, it remains below the historical average levels. The overall import volume from Uzbekistan, however, shows a strong upward trend. In terms of specific yarn specifications, the total import volume of carded yarn 8-25s in July was 57.3kt, accounting for 49.2% of the total imports. Among these, Vietnamese yarn continues to dominate, while the proportion of Uzbekistani yarn has increased to 11.09%, totaling 6.349kt. The total import volume of carded yarn 30-47s reached 15.5kt. Notably, Uzbekistani cotton yarn imports increased to 9.164kt, up by over 4kt compared to June. Vietnamese yarn in this specification totaled 5.433kt, while Malaysian and Indonesian yarn only amounted to a few hundred tons in July. Indian yarn 32s and 40s continues to see minuscule import volumes due to long-standing significant losses in import profits.

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

In July 2024, China's imports of blended cotton yarn totaled around 11.6kt, showing a slight decrease of about 641 tons compared to June. As of the end of July this year, the cumulative import volume of blended cotton yarn reached 85.6kt, with over 80% still imported from Vietnam, particularly widely used in overseas supermarket clothing orders. In terms of specifications, the proportion of blended combed yarn accounts for nearly 40%, which is significantly higher than the less than 20% share of combed yarn in cotton yarn imports. In the domestic market, specifications such as CVC 60/40, CVC 80/20, and TC 65/35 are commonly used as base yarns in knitwear, thus the import of blended cotton yarn mainly focuses on specifications like carded yarn 8-25s.