The China National Cotton Reserves Corporation (CNCRC) said on Monday that China's cotton sales had jumped to 6.05 million tons by July 18, up 48.4 percent from the same period last year.

A survey conducted by the CNCRC showed 6.46 million tons of cotton had been processed during the same period, up 18.4 percent, while 6.51 million tons was purchased, up 17.8 percent.

The survey found the price of cotton had stabilized due to increased supply with the selling of the state cotton reserves since July 16, following continued rises over previous months as textile manufacturers increased cotton stocks.

Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, a futures market dealing with agricultural products, reported that its January 2008 cotton contract was priced at 15,040 yuan (US$ 1,978.9) per ton on July 19, down 320 yuan (US$ 42.1) from last Monday.

The CNCRC, a state-owned enterprise founded in 2003, is responsible for the purchase, sale, storage, transportation and processing of state cotton reserves and guiding cotton imports and exports.

China is the largest cotton producer in the world and turns out more than six million tons of cotton a year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23 2007)