In June 2026, China imported 110,000 tons of cotton, a threefold year-on-year increase but a 2.7% month-on-month decline. This contradictory signal reflects the tug-of-war between persistently high domestic-foreign price spreads and slowing demand during the traditional off-season for textile mills. More notably, the import mix underwent a dramatic reshuffle: Brazilian cotton's share plunged from 58% to 40%, while Australian cotton's share surged from near zero to 28%. This shift highlights changing pricing logic in the global cotton market.
Total Import Volume: Driven by Price Spreads The year-on-year surge in June imports was primarily driven by the domestic-foreign price spread, which remained around RMB 3,000 per ton. Coupled with the continued use of additional sliding-duty quotas, imported cotton offered a clear cost advantage over domestic cotton. The extremely low base last June (only 27,000 tons) further amplified the year-on-year increase. The month-on-month decline suggests that textile mills slowed procurement during the off-season, focusing on essential restocking rather than building inventories.
In the first half of 2026, cumulative imports reached 935,000 tons, up 100% year-on-year. For the first ten months of the 2025/26 marketing year, imports totaled 1.415 million tons, up 52.6%. These figures indicate that imported cotton is shifting from a supplementary to a primary role in China's supply system.
Source Structure: Australian Cotton Rises, Brazilian Cotton Slows June saw a rare and dramatic restructuring of import sources. Brazilian cotton remained the top source, but imports fell 32.2% month-on-month to 44,100 tons, with its share dropping from 58% to 40%. The reason: Brazilian cotton's average price rose 3.3% month-on-month to USD 1,669 per ton, eroding its cost advantage. Meanwhile, Australian cotton imports surged to 30,600 tons, up 22 times month-on-month, capturing a 28% share. Australian cotton's average price edged down 1.1% to USD 1,927 per ton, making it an attractive alternative as Brazilian and US cotton prices rose.
US cotton imports fell 28.1% month-on-month to 17,900 tons, representing a 16% share. US cotton prices rose 9.2% month-on-month to USD 2,026 per ton, the highest increase among all sources, driven by expectations of a tighter global new-crop balance and drought in US growing regions.
By trade mode, general trade's share rose from 7% to 19%, indicating stronger direct import demand from end users, while the share of goods under customs supervision zones fell 12 percentage points, suggesting reduced stockpiling by intermediaries.