Carded yarn below 25s accounts for 80% of total cotton yarn imports in Mar

I. China's cotton yarn imports totaled 113.2kt in Mar

In Mar 2025, China's cotton yarn imports were around 113.2kt, an increase of around 10kt compared with Feb, but a year-on-year decrease of 56.4kt compared to March 2024. From Jan-Mar 2025, China's total import of cotton yarn reached 302kt, showing a significant gap compared to the same period last year. After April, with the escalation of Sino-US tariff conflicts, some orders with traceability requirements for the US market have been suspended or delayed, and subsequent demand for imported cotton yarn is expected to decline noticeably.

The average cotton yarn import price rose slightly to $2.256/kg in March. Among them, Indian average import price increased to around $2.72/kg due to a higher proportion of combed yarn arrivals. Meanwhile, Vietnamese and Pakistani yarn prices continued their downward trend, with the average import price of Vietnamese yarn dropping to $2.27/kg, of which ring-spun and open-end yarn below 25s accounted for as high as 77%. The average import price of Pakistani siro-spun yarn fell to $2.4/kg in March, with bleached medium-to-high-quality siro-spun yarns being relatively popular in the Chinese market. It is expected that subsequent import costs will further decline after the decrease in local cotton prices.

II China's cotton yarn imports by origin in Mar 2025

In March 2025, Vietnamese yarn import volume rebounded to 66.3kt, rapidly increasing its share to 58.56%. Pakistan ranked second with an import volume of about 17.5kt, and the increased inflows have exerted some pressure on spot prices. Bangladeshi cotton yarn imports once again secured the third position, totaling 7.6kt with a 6.68% share. Malaysian cotton yarn imports dropped to 6.9kt in March, accounting for about 6%. Indian yarn imports were approximately 5.9kt, while Uzbekistan was the most affected by China domestic low-price competition, with only 2.38kt arriving.

III China's cotton yarn imports by structure in Mar 2025

In Mar, the share of carded single yarn below 8s continued to increase to 24.97% of imports, while carded single cotton yarn 8-25s, accounted for about 54.29%. The import share of carded single yarn 30-47s, which is a competitive specification for domestic cotton yarn, further declined to around 5.74%.

IV. China's blended cotton yarn imports in Mar 2025

China's imports of blended cotton yarn reached 14.6kt in March 2025, representing a month-on-month increase of about 3kt compared to February. Among the imported blended cotton yarn, carded single yarn 8-25s still accounted for over half of the total, with a total of 7.9kt arriving. The imports of combed single yarn 25-30s and combed single yarn 30-47s were at 1,580 tons and 1,553 tons, respectively. The export prices of imported blended yarns fluctuated slightly and were primarily used for export-oriented traceability apparel production. Therefore, demand is mainly driven by domestic trade and processing needs. Subsequent reductions in orders from US supermarkets and other buyers will gradually decrease the import demand for blended yarns.