China's cotton imports from Australia are expected to see a significant increase in the next few years, although the amount is to drop for the 2002-03 season due to a long-standing drought, which will cut Australia's cotton production by half, said Dorcen Walters, chairman of Australian Cotton Shippers Association in an interview with China Daily yesterday.

The chairman is heading a delegation of 15 Australian cotton traders, one representative from the cotton farmers' association Cotton Australia and another from the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization) to China.

The group arrived in Beijing yesterday and will visit Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province, Shanghai and Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province to hold seminars with local cotton textile producers.

The bulk of Chinese cotton textile producers are located in Shandong, Shanghai, Guangdong and East China's Jiangsu Province.

Australia ranks the world's third largest cotton exporter, with China now its fifth largest cotton market. Its imports from Australia doubled in the 2001-02 season from the 1999-2000 season, according to statistics obtained from the Australian Embassy in China.

Australian cotton is preferred by many domestic textile producers because of its high quality and seasonal difference with China in its harvest time, said Zhu Lanfen, vice-chairwoman of the China Cotton Textile Industries' Association.

But the amount of cotton imported from Australia is still limited due to its high price. China will be able to increase its imports as the cotton textile industry develops and upgrades its technology, she said.

China imported 208,000 tons of raw cotton and cotton yarn in 2002, up 84.72 percent year-on-year, according to Chinese customs statistics. From Australia, 19,900 tons of cotton were imported.

Zhu said China's WTO entry has offered Chinese cotton textile producers more choice in selecting raw materials, however import figures fell far short of last year's quota because international cotton prices rose and few cotton products could not be domestically produced or substituted.

China has announced an import quota of 860,000 tons for this year. Four State trading companies, including China Textile Import and Export Corp, have been granted 33 per cent of the quota, with the remainder going to non-State traders or producers.

(China Daily February 18, 2003)