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

China imported less cotton in the first 10 months of this year as the international financial woes have bitten into the country's textile industry and slashed its demand accordingly, the General Administration of Customs said on December 28, 2008.

Between January and October, China bought from abroad 1.866 million tonnes of cotton 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, the arrivals plummeted by 29.8 percent to 96,000 tonnes while the import value dropped by 18.2 percent to 170 million U.S. dollars, the customs said.

The private sector imported 990,000 tonnes of cotton in the 10 months, accounting for 53.1 percent of the national total, with a year-on-year rise of 1.1 percent.

The imports of state-owned enterprises and foreign-funded companies stood at 508,000 tonnes and 369,000 tonnes, respectively, down by 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 ten months this year, China bought 826,000 tonnes of cotton from the United States, down 18.8 percent; 570,000 tonnes from India, down 34.4 percent; and 166,000 tonnes from Uzbekistan, down 15.8 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2008)