August 12, 2013
Cotton exports dropped by 31 per cent to 9.8 million bales in 2012-13 marketing year that ended last month, but imports rose slightly to 1.47 million bales in the same period, a report said.
The world’s second largest cotton producer is expected to import more natural fibre in the coming months, it noted. “Preliminary data suggests that exports reached 9.8 million bales through the end of July, the final month of the 2012-13 marketing year,” the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in its latest report. The outbound shipments stood at 14.17 million bales in the 2011-12 marketing year that runs from August to July.
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One bale contains 170 kg of cotton fibre. Major exports markets were China, Bangladesh and Vietnam. On the other side, the country’s cotton imports rose by two per cent to 1.47 million bales in 2012-13 marketing year, as against 499,524 bales in the previous year.
“More than 60 per cent of import shipments in July originated from West Africa suggesting that, as predicted, mills are covering their needs with imports. Imports are expected to continue over the next few months,” the USDA said.
The state-owned Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has sold nearly 50 per cent of its stocks and higher volumes of cotton imports are expected over the next few months, it said.
CCI has sold 1.2 million bales of cotton so far and has stock around 1.1 million bales. The agency continues to auction stocks on a daily basis and will continue to release stocks in the 2013-14 marketing year, provided there are enough buyers, it added. While India’s overall consumption forecast was 28.81 million bales for 2012-13, the monthly consumption averaged over two million bales since December 2011. Trade sources indicate that domestic consumption will remain strong as small to medium sized mills seek to cover their position till September this year, the report said.
Larger mills are facing fewer liquidity issues and are largely covered with either imports or domestic supplies through October when new-crop cotton arrive, it added. India is estimated to have produced 33.8 million bales in 2012-13 crop year (July-June), slightly lower than last year.
Source:-www.business-standard.com
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