It is estimated that cotton output in the second half of this year will go up compared to previous months. In the first seven months of this year, China imported 1.40 million tons of cotton, down 48.8 percent than the same period of last year.

According to the forecasts of International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), in 2007-2008, the global cotton output will be 25.15 million tons, down two percent than the previous year; cotton consumption will be 26.87 million tons, up 2.5 percent. Hence, it is predicted that the international cotton price will go up by 12 US cents per pound.

With tight supply of cotton in China, prices have continued to rise. To control this situation, Government sold around 300,000 tons of cotton from national reserves. Thus, from July onwards till August end, cotton prices began to go down. However, slight adjustment towards higher side has been observed again.

Besides, local prices are moving up just as international cotton prices have begun to slow down. This has created a large discrepancy in the industry.
 
Fibre2fashion News Desk - China