Customs statistics show that China imported 280,000 tons of cotton in March 2021, a decrease of 10,000 tons or about 3% compared with February, but an increase of 80,000 tons compared with the same period in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 40%; 2020/ Since 2021 (2020.9-2021.3), China has imported a total of approximately 1.94 million tons of cotton, a year-on-year increase of 90%. Among them, US cotton, Brazilian cotton, Indian cotton, West African cotton, etc. rank high, and Central Asian cotton (mainly Uzbekistan cotton) imports The volume continues to decline significantly, while Greek cotton, Mexican cotton, Argentinian cotton and other niche origins and brands are imported sporadically.
Some cotton-related companies said that although the base of cotton imports was relatively low in the first half of 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, and the large-scale global vaccination of vaccines has led to a rapid recovery and rebound in cotton consumption, From September 2020 to March 2021, my country’s cotton imports increased by more than 90% year-on-year, which is still surprising. Considering that my country imported a total of 970,000 tons of cotton in the first quarter of 2021, a year-on-year increase of only 59%, the growth time of cotton imports this year is mainly concentrated from September 2020 to December 2020.
Why will cotton imports increase in 2020/21? Industry analysis is as follows:
First, China has actively purchased U.S. cotton in accordance with the first phase of the Sino-U.S. trade agreement since April 2020. In addition, due to the raging epidemic, some U.S. cotton Contract processing, delivery, transportation, etc. have been postponed, so after August, the 2020/21 US cotton will usher in a climax of arrival and contract performance;
The second is that since April 2020 Since the 1st, ICE futures have been rising in the past year. Under the sentiment of “buy up but not down”, China’s cotton spinning enterprises and traders have significantly increased their bottom-buying operations, and deliveries are mostly concentrated from September 2020 to February 2021;
Third, in October 2020, the country issued an additional 400,000 tons of sliding tax import quotas for processing trade, which can be extended to be used before the end of February 2021; in addition, some textile companies will % tariff quotas are concentrated from October 2020 to February 2021. “The quotas are relatively sufficient, cotton prices are quite attractive, and downstream domestic and foreign sales orders are booming”, triggering an outbreak of foreign cotton imports;
Fourthly, after the Spring Festival, the price of domestic cotton rose in a “fake” style under the pressure of the surge in energy, chemical, black and agricultural futures. The increase soon left ICE and foreign cotton spot prices behind, and the price difference between domestic and foreign cotton Expanding from a minimum of 881 yuan/ton to 1,500-2,000 yuan/ton (the price difference between domestic and foreign cotton exceeded 2,000 yuan/ton in early December), the competitiveness of foreign cotton has significantly improved;
Fifth: The restrictions on cotton in Xinjiang have prompted some export-oriented enterprises and processing agents to increase contract purchases of foreign cotton and yarn to avoid performance risks. </p
