China: Cotton and Products Update
MY15/16 cotton production is forecast down to 5.5 million tons. This forecast is based on 19 percent fall in planted area in response to the lower government’s price support for cotton planting. Although the forecast for MY15/16 cotton use is up slightly to 7.5 million tons, cotton imports are forecast to plummet to 1.25 million tons in MY15/16 from the 1.8 million tons in the previous year. This is mainly due to the limited issuance of additional import quotas driving the Chinese industry to use imported cotton yarn.
