China imported less cotton in the first 10 months of this year as the international financial woes have hit the country's textile industry and slashed its demand accordingly, the General Administration of Customs said yesterday.

Between January and October, China bought 1.866 million tons of cotton from abroad at a combined value of US$3.11 billion, a decline of 8.3 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively, from the same period of last year.

In October alone, imports plummeted by 29.8 percent to 96,000 tons while the import value dropped by 18.2 percent to US$170 million, the Customs said.

The private sector imported 990,000 tons of cotton in the past 10 months, making up 53.1 percent of the national total, with an annual rise of 1.1 percent. Imports by state-owned enterprises and foreign-funded firms stood at 508,000 tons and 369,000 tons, down 14.5 percent and 18.4 percent on a yearly basis.

According to the Customs, about 83.7 percent of China's total cotton imports came from the United States, India and Uzbekistan. In the first 10 months this year, China bought 826,000 tons of cotton from the US, down 18.8 percent; 570,000 tons from India, 34.4 percent lower; and 166,000 tons from Uzbekistan, a 15.8 percent drop.

(Shanghai Daily December 29, 2008)