During the period January to August Japan''s imports of cotton yarns and threads declined slightly with China, Indonesia and Thailand taking additional market shares to Pakistani spinners.

Japan''s imports of cotton yarns declined more than 5% in August in volume terms, up 1% in the first eight months of the year thanks to a rebound in shipments in May.

This slowdown in imports is mainly due to a continued relocation of Japanese textile and apparel capacities to low-cost countries.

Since replacing domestic yarn production, imports of cotton yarns did not sharply fell, as Japanese consumption apparently did.
Japanese yarn makers such as Toyobo reported new difficulties in the past months. Japan''s spinning capacity fell from 5 million spindles a decade ago down to 1.98 million in March 2003, according to Japan Spinners'' Association.

Until now leading supplier of the Japanese market, Pakistan is constantly losing market shares to China and Indonesia.
Imports from Pakistan were down 24% in volume and value terms in the January-August period. Still ranking first in volume terms, Pakistan is only Japan''s fourth supplier in value terms.

China''s shipments to Japan rose 30% in the first eight months of the current year. They clearly slowed down this summer, however, after export prices soared as a result of higher cotton prices in the PRC.

From 385 yen per kilo in the January-August period of 2002, average export price of Chinese yarns and threads rose to 442 yen in August 2003. Shipments from Indonesia rose less dramatically in the January-August period while imports from Hong Kong were more than halved. Sales of Thai spinners to the Japanese market surged during the same period and continued soaring in August with increases of 67% and 62% in volume and value terms, respectively.