China’s cotton imports are likely to climb modestly in 2021-22 after a jump this season. China’s cotton imports are predicted to increase by 460,000 bales to 11.02 million bales in 2021-22, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Beijing department. This would be a much smaller increase in imports by China than had been predicted for this season, when the recovery from the epidemic was expected to bring purchasing up by 3.43 million bales. Textile exports climbed by 28 percent in 2020, but clothing exports fell by 9.2 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, with textile exports buoyed by increasing demand for medical PPE during the pandemic. PPE is expected to continue to boost textile exports, but general textile and clothing exports will suffer uncertainties, according to the bureau.
The bureau anticipates that the prohibition on US imports of Xingjiang-made apparel will have some impact on China’s cotton usage. Despite the restrictions, cotton sowings in Xinjiang are expected to reach 2.48 million hectares in 2021-22. This year, China’s entire cotton output is expected to increase by 100,000 bales to 500,000 bales.
