Research Report on China's Cotton Import – Meeting the Needs of a Dynamic Market

Dec 19,2022 | Retail

China is the world's largest cotton consumer; however, the domestic cotton production cannot meet the demand of the downstream industry chain. Hence, the cotton market is in short supply and it is expected that the future demand gap of China's cotton will still rely mainly on imports to meet, as China's cotton import market is dynamic.

With the development of China's economy and rising living standards, the demand for cotton in the Chinese market is on the rise. Due to the limited arable land, there is little room for growth in China's local cotton production, and the country needs to import a large amount of cotton every year.

In 2021, China's cotton imports totalled 2.147 million tons, down 5.7% year-on-year, and the import value was US$4.11 billion, up 15.3% year-on-year. According to CRI analysis, in the first three quarters of 2022, China's cotton imports totalled 1.458 million tons, down 21.2% year-on-year, and the import value was US$3.84 billion, up 11.1%.

The average price of China's cotton imports is more volatile in 2018-2022, as the imports fell continuously from US$2.0 per kg in 2018 to US$1.7 per kg in 2020. The average price of China's cotton imports reached US$1.9 per kg in 2021. In the first three quarters of 2022, the average price of China's cotton imports rose to US$2.6 per kg, which was up by 41.0% year-on-year.

In 2021, China imported cotton from 36 countries and the top 5 source countries by import volume are the U.S., Brazil, India, Burkina Faso and Benin. According to the market analysis, China's cotton imports from the U.S, Brazil and India in 2021 will be 1.884 million tons, accounting for 87.7% of total imports, and $3.60 billion, or 87.5% of total imports, with the U.S accounting for 38.6%, Brazil for 30.0% and India for 19.2%.

In the first 3 quarters of 2022, Sudan overtook Burkina Faso to return to the top 5 source countries of China's cotton imports. The United States, Brazil and India still firmly stand in the top 3, wherein the 3 accounted for 88.8% of total imports, of which the United States imports amounted to 95.0 million tons, an increase of 26.6% year-on-year. India's imports fell to 39,000 tons, down 90.4% year-on-year.

The types of cotton imported into China mainly include uncombed cotton and combed cotton, of which uncombed cotton is the main type of cotton imported into China. In 2021, China imported 2.142 million tons of uncombed cotton, accounting for 99.8% of the total imports and the import value of US$4.10 billion accounted for 99.8%.

In accordance to the latest business market research report offered on Bharatbook, the study covers the impact of COVID-19 on China's cotton import, major players and their competitive benchmarks, key drivers and market opportunities, expected revenue of the market and the strategies adopted by the key players.