China's bumper crop to bring down cotton prices

Global cotton prices may be hit by a record production in China this year. China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of cotton, is likely to cut its imports by around 30 per cent this year following a bumper crop.

According to market analysts, China's imports may fall to 2.8 million tonnes in the marketing year through August, as output is forecast to rise 25% to 7.1 million tonne.

Slow imports by China in the final quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007 weighed on New York cotton Futures, which reached a low for the year of 46.85 cents a pound on May 14.

After that the prices rose by 31%, as traders expected shipments to China to increase in the second half.

China, which buys cotton mostly from the US, imported 1.5 million tonnes in the nine months ending May 31.

Imports from June-August would need to be 1.3 million tonnes. China's actual output could be as much as 7.5 million tonnes, much higher than the 6.7 million tonnes reported by the National Bureau of Statistics.