China's cotton yarn imports hit yearly low in Aug

I. China's cotton yarn imports totaled 94.4kt in Aug

In Aug 2024, China's cotton yarn imports fell to 94.4kt, marking the lowest monthly import volume so far this year. This represents a decrease of approximately 22kt compared to July and is significantly lower than the level recorded during the same period last year, with a year-on-year decline of about 45%. Currently, India and Pakistan is likely to cut production of new cotton, and forecasts for US cotton production have also been continuously lowered from earlier optimistic expectations. According to the September USDA report, the total production in these three regions has been revised down by approximately 305kt. As a result, it may be challenging for India and Pakistan to leverage the new cotton harvest to boost production and export advantages. From Jan-Aug 2024, China's total import of cotton yarn reached 912.1kt, showing a notable reduction compared to last year.

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

In August, the import volume of Vietnamese yarn totaled 54kt. Although this represents a decrease of about 4kt compared to July, its market share has surged to 57%. Some shipments have experienced delays due to typhoons, and the peak arrival period is expected to continue until mid to late October. Imports of Pakistani yarn have seen a notable decline, dropping to a new low of only 8.4kt in August, which accounts for approximately 9% of total imports. Additionally, imports from Uzbekistan decreased by nearly 10,000 tons compared to the previous month, with only 7,799 tons arriving in August, marking the lowest level this year. Meanwhile, imports of Indian yarn maintained a slight increase, totaling 7,275 tons in August and accounting for around 8% of the total. There has also been a noticeable increase in the share of cotton yarn imports from Malaysia and Bangladesh.

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

Currently, the dominant specifications of imported cotton yarn continue to focus on coarse count open-end yarn, ring-spun yarn, and siro-spun yarns. The continuation of a low-profit and high-risk environment has suppressed import demand in the domestic market. In terms of specific specifications, the total import volume of carded yarn 8-25s totaled 48.2kt in August, accounting for 49.9% of total imports. Additionally, carded yarn below 8s reached 17.56kt this month, with a significant increase in the share of Vietnamese yarn, rising from nearly half to 67.48%. It's primarily due to the firm price of Pakistani siro-spun yarn, which has led to a partial shift of domestic import demand towards Vietnamese open-end and siro-spun alternatives. Meanwhile, the share of open-end yarn from Taiwan has continued to decline after the suspension of tariff reductions, resulting in sluggish sales. In August, the total import volume of carded yarn 30-47s totaled 15.5kt, with imports of Uzbekistani yarn in this specification range sharply dropping to 5,297 tons, while Vietnamese yarn remained relatively stable at around 5,537 tons. Imports from Malaysia decreased to 480 tons, and Indonesian yarn has virtually disappeared from the market due to high prices.

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

In Aug 2024, China's imports of blended cotton yarn totaled around 11.1kt, showing a slight decrease of about 500 tons compared to July. From January to August 2024, the cumulative import volume of blended cotton yarn has totaled 96.7kt, with around 86.55% imported from Vietnam. Overall, the import volume has shown little fluctuation compared to cotton yarn. Among the imported blended cotton yarn, carded yarn 8-25s represents about 51% of the total, while the share of carded yarn below 8s was around 16% in August. The remainder primarily consists of blended combed yarns. Recently, as overseas cotton prices have gradually strengthened, the price increase for blended yarns has been relatively modest, resulting in overall good sales performance. Some Vietnamese yarn mills have scheduled shipments of blended yarn for November, and it is expected that China's import volume will remain above 10,000 tons per month in the upcoming period.