China's cotton yarn imports in July 2026: arrivals remain elevated amid strong orders

I. China's cotton yarn imports totaled 149kt in July 2026

Recently, Chinese Customs released detailed data on cotton yarn imports for July 2026, showing a slight decline from June 2026. In July 2026, China's imports of cotton yarn (HS code 5205) totaled approximately 149kt, up about 57.61% year-on-year compared with July 2025, and down about 2.2kt, or 1.48%, month-on-month compared with June 2026. Since April, overseas offers have continued to rise, with market sentiment turning bullish, prompting China domestic buyers to increase import yarn purchases. Meanwhile, some traders, in order to ensure smooth shipment of earlier low-priced orders, also supplemented with some higher-priced cargoes. These multiple factors jointly kept July import yarn arrivals at elevated levels.

II. China's cotton yarn imports by origin in July 2026

In July 2026, the import share and volume of Vietnamese cotton yarn both shrank from the previous month, with total imports at around 73.2kt, down about 3.2kt from the previous month. Indian yarn imports totaled 20.7kt in July, down from the previous month, with the share declining to around 13.93%. Pakistani yarn imports rose in both volume and share in July, with imports at 19.1kt and the share climbing to 12.84%. Uzbekistani yarn imports were 7.9kt in July, with the share declining to 5.32%. Malaysian cotton yarn imports saw a decline, with July arrivals at around 5.8kt, while Bangladeshi cotton yarn imports posted a modest increase, with the share rebounding to 5.56% and July arrivals at 8.3kt.

III. China's cotton yarn imports by structure in July 2026

By specification, in July 2026, carded single yarn below 8s accounted for approximately 22.17% of the total, totaling 33kt. Carded single yarn 8-25s accounted for about 50.25%, totaling 74.7kt. Carded single yarn 30-47s accounted for about 9.19%, with imports declining from the previous month to 13.7kt. Combed single yarn 30-47s accounted for about 6.75%, also down from the previous month, totaling 10kt.

IV. China's blended cotton yarn imports in July 2026

In July 2026, China's imports of blended cotton yarn (HS code 5206) totaled approximately 16.2kt, a modest decline from the previous month. By specification, carded single yarn 8-25s accounted for approximately 56.04%, totaling about 9kt; combed single yarn 25-30s arrivals exceeded carded single yarn of the same specification in July, totaling approximately 2.1kt, with an import share of about 13.11%. Overseas blended yarn prices remained relatively stable compared with pure cotton yarns, with slightly better import margins, and domestic buyers placed orders more actively in the earlier period. As August marks the transition point between off-season and peak-season, recent blended yarn market turnover has shown signs of recovery. Blended yarn arrivals in August are expected to exceed those in July.