Market Dynamics: Chinese Cotton Textile Enterprises' Enthusiasm For Importing Indian Cotton Rebounded

Lalit Kumar, Managing Director, CCI Gupta said that by the end of February, the procurement volume of MSP had reached 9.4 million packages, and the procurement was still in progress in all states, and the annual purchase volume of CCI had exceeded 10 million packages, almost "firmly".

According to the data of CAI, although the daily arrival of cotton has dropped to below 90000 bales, 40000 to 50000 bales are purchased by CCI.

On the one hand, the price of raw cotton in Maharashtra, Trengana and Andhra Pradesh is still 6500 per kilowatt -7000 rupees, lower than the minimum support price of 7121 rupees/dan (medium length), so farmers and cooperatives are more expected to sell cotton to CCI;

On the other hand, ICE cotton futures continued to fluctuate and fall back. Compared with imported cotton from the United States, Brazil, Australia and other countries, Indian cotton prices were relatively low. Cotton mills and cotton traders were fully engaged in importing foreign cotton, which led to low acquisition rates of private ginners and private cotton enterprises in most major cotton producing areas in India since 2024/25, and farmers had little choice.

With the purchase volume of CCI approaching 10 million bales in 2024/25, some international cotton merchants and Indian cotton related enterprises judged that the cotton auction also entered the "countdown" or started in recent days.

First, according to the requirements of the Indian government, India's CCI cotton purchase funds will be significantly reduced in 2024/25, and at present, it has been "insufficient". Considering that there is still some room to increase the remaining purchase volume in this year, it is necessary to timely and seize the auction payment collection;

Second, from the feedback, CCI cotton warehouse capacity is very tight, a large number of cotton is facing storage problems, while the Indian rainy season is coming, CCI has to choose to ship. In addition, according to the practice in recent years, India cotton purchased by CCI is generally rotated before the listing of new cotton, preparing for the new year's MSP acquisition;

Third, some Indian cotton enterprises and international cotton merchants believe that the cost of American cotton will rise significantly as China imposes an additional 15% tariff on imported American cotton from March 10, and the substitutability of Brazilian cotton, Indian cotton, Australian cotton, etc. to American cotton will become increasingly prominent. Due to the relatively strict acquisition standards of CCI, the quality of lint mills is good, the settlement is fast and the delivery is timely, so the enthusiasm of Chinese cotton textile enterprises/traders to participate in the bidding of the S-6 (the high-ranking and high-ranking indicator S-6 of the state of Uqigujarat) rotated by CCI continues to rise.