Jan-Feb 2022 China cotton yarn imports declined

1. China cotton yarn imports amounted to 240kt in Jan-Feb 2022, down 27.9% on the year.

Jan cotton yarn imports of China in 2022 reached 146.6kt, up 11.45% on the month and down 2471% on the year. Feb one totaled 93.6kt, down 36.15% on the month and down 32.51% on the year, hitting the lowest in recent three years. The total cotton yarn imports of China was 240.2kt, down 27.9% on the year.

2. Jan-Feb 2022: Among the imports, Vietnamese cotton yarn shared more, Pakistani one stable and Indian one and Uzbekistani one less.

The top four import origins are still Vietnam, India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Among the cotton yarn imports of China, Vietnamese one shared 6-7% more; Indian one declined by 4-5%; Pakistani one kept stable shares at about 13%; and Uzbekistani one shared 5% less. The increase of Vietnamese cotton yarn mainly benefited from more ordering caused by the narrower spread of cotton yarn price at home and overseas, and the decrease of Uzbekistani one was mainly credited to the transportation.

3. China cotton yarn import volume from major origins in 2022

The orders placed by traders in the fourth quarter of 2021 reduced evidently as the spot imported cotton yarn price was lower than forward one and the sales of imported cotton yarn were poor in China local market. In Jan-Feb, cotton yarn import volume from Vietnam reduced relatively less by about 14% on the year due to narrower price spread at home and overseas; that from India declined by 19.8%; from Pakistan dropped 32% or so and from Uzbekistan fell the most by about 60% mainly due to the issues of railway transportation.

4. The structure of China cotton yarn imports in Jan-Feb 2022

Compared with last Nov and Dec, the shares of carded cotton yarn 8-25S increased by about 10% in Jan-Feb 2022, and that of carded 30-40S dropped obviously by 5%, as cotton yarn 8-25S in China local market mainly depend on import and it is also sold better than carded 32S.

5. Shares of cotton yarn importers in China in Jan-Feb 2022

The major importers of cotton yarn in China in Jan-Feb 2022 are Fujian, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Anhui with shares of 20%, 19%, 17%, 12% and 9% respectively. Among them, Shanghai shared much more and Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong shared less.

In conclusion, cotton yarn imports of China in Jan-Feb 2022 decreased largely by 27.9% on the year. Especially in Feb, it recorded the lowest in recent three year, as traders scheduled the order-placing so as to avoid Spring Festival holiday. Mar arrivals of imported cotton yarn are expected to be more than Feb ones. In terms of the product structure, carded 8-25S took up much more proportion while carded 30-47S less, showing that cotton yarn imports continue to shift to those with low-to-medium counts.