As the world's largest producer and exporter of textile products
China can expect a 10.5 percent rise in its cotton production this
year, the National Reform and Development Commission (NRDC) said
Monday.
"The latest estimates show that the nation's cotton production
is likely to reach 6.5 million tons, an increase of 800,000 tons
over last year," the NRDC said in a statement on its official
website.
The statement attributed the bumper harvest to good weather in
the main cotton-producing regions.
And the International Cotton Advisory Committee has raised its
estimate of global cotton production by 330,000 tons to 25 million
tons because of higher output from China, India and the United
States.
This has led to lower prices for both domestic and imported
cotton. At the end of September cotton futures contracts maturing
in December were priced at 13,666 yuan (US$1,730) per ton at
China's Zhengzhou futures exchange. That is 667 yuan less than a
month ago.
The price for the same futures contracts on the New York
exchange also slipped back 5.5 percent in September.
Customs figures show that China's cotton imports dropped by a
hefty 57.2 percent year on year in September to 134,000 tons. The
figure is 53.1 percent down on the August figure.
The NRDC called for measures to ensure that purchases of cotton
from farmers were carried-out in a smooth and efficient manner so
as to protect their interests.
It added that despite the good harvest this year the domestic
supply of cotton still fell far short of demand and therefore there
remained a requirement to support domestic cotton producers in the
long term.?
(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2006)