According to customs statistics, in April 2020, China imported 140,000 tons of cotton yarn, a year-on-year decrease of 26.32% (in April, the import amount of China’s textile yarn, fabric and products was USD 1.14 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 25.4%); from September 2019 to April 2020, China imported 1.24 million tons of cotton yarn, a year-on-year decrease of 4.62%.

It is worth noting that China imported 192,400 tons of cotton yarn in March, an increase of 37.05% month-on-month, and an increase of 0.58% year-on-year. In April, the import volume and import value of cotton yarn plunged. Some cotton yarn trading enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other places reported that the weaving, apparel, and foreign trade enterprises were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in April, and the consumption demand for yarn and cloth declined significantly. (the domestic market in February/March was basically stagnated; the export orders were largely cancelled or postponed in March; both of which occurred in April.) As a result, cotton yarn imports fell linearly from 192,400 tons in March to 140,000 tons. Although it was reasonable, the decline was larger than expected.

 

According to the survey, as the pandemics in China, Europe, Japan and South Korea alleviated significantly in April/May, they have pressed the “restart button” for economy, trade and transportation. Since late April, not only domestic and autumn orders have rebounded, but also the export orders delayed in March and April are activated again, and a small number of new orders of Europe, Japan and South Korea have come, port bonded, spot Vietnam yarn, Pakistan yarn inquiry, and transactions continued to pick up, so April is a “lowland” of cotton yarn imports, and the import volume and import amount are expected to rebound significantly in May.

 

Traders and cotton textile companies believe that, in addition to the slow growth of domestic sales and the reduction of foreign orders caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the reasons for the significant drop in China’s cotton yarn imports in April are as follows: First, in March/April, India, Pakistan and other Southeast Asian countries have successively implemented measures in order to fight against the pandemic, spinning mills, logistics, and port shipments are close to shut down, the cotton yarn purchase contracts of Chinese companies are forced to be canceled or postponed 1 - 2 months; secondly, the price of cotton yarn futures fell back in April, the spot price difference between domestic and foreign cotton yarns narrowed, and the competitiveness of imported yarns declined; third, since the past four months, RMB has been in a depreciation, and the low point has a tendency to become lower and lower. Some institutions and investment banks have analyzed that the current international market is full of high uncertainty.