BEIJING, April 28 - Farmers in China, the world's top consumer of cotton, are likely to plant 2.3 percent less acreage this year from last year, a survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Lower domestic output could prompt China, the world's largest buyer, to import more from the world market, particularly the United States and India.

Earlier, the China Cotton Research Institute, had estimated a decrease of 5 percent for this year.[ID:nTOE61104Z]

Acreage is seen falling largely in central provinces of Shandong and Henan along the Yellow River, according to the survey posted on an industry website (www.cottonchina.org).

It attributed the decrease to lower returns from cotton farming and weak demand last year from China's textile industry amid the global financial crisis. Farmers in these provinces grow more wheat instead due to Beijing's subsidies.

But farmers in Xinjiang, the top cotton area, will increase the area slightly, according to the report.

China produced 6.4 million tonnes of cotton in 2009, a fall of 14.6 percent on year. China's cotton imports picked up this year following a recovery in demand from textile makers. Imports in March surged 228 percent on year to 323,800 tonnes.[