As the largest textile country in Asia after China, Indian weaving mills have never had to import cotton yarn in the past. This year, India has unprecedentedly begun to import cotton yarn to ensure domestic supply. The reason is that imported cotton yarn is nearly 30 rupees/kg cheaper than local yarn. Gantra, chairman of the Cotton Association of India, said that this is the first time cotton yarn traders and brokers have imported cotton yarn, which is unprecedented.
India has the world’s second largest spinning capacity after China, with a yarn output of 4.7 million tons, including 3.4 million tons of cotton yarn. According to the CAI Chairman, Indian weaving and spinning mills can consume 60-65% of the total domestic cotton yarn and the remaining yarn is exported.
Currently, nearly 200 containers (4,000 tons) of combed compact cotton yarn have arrived at Indian ports from Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan. Not only that, some weaving mills and yarn mills in the country have purchased small quantities of imported cotton yarn from traders for testing, and may place larger orders for imported cotton yarn if they feel it is appropriate.
According to a reporter from China Cotton Network, domestic imported yarn traders have recently received inquiries for Xinjiang yarn. Last month, domestic Xinjiang 32-count combed yarn was exported to India, and Xinjiang yarn was also exported to Vietnam. However, due to the Xinjiang cotton ban, the current quantity is very small, and only some orders are available. It should be noted that unlike cotton, the Indian government has not eliminated import duties on cotton yarn, but there is no import tax on cotton yarn imported from Vietnam, so importers are taking advantage of this opportunity.
The Executive Committee of the Federation of Indian Textile Industry said that the price of cotton in the domestic market in India is much higher than the international price, so the production cost of Indian cotton mills remains high. India’s textile mills are now operating at half capacity due to falling demand. With the import of cotton yarn, cotton yarn sales across India will face more challenges. At present, cotton stocks in Indian textile mills are being depleted very quickly, and further cotton yarn will be imported in the next 3-4 months, which may bring the number of imported cotton yarns to close to 1,000 containers.
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