By Oct 31, 2021, ginning volumes of 2021/22 Xinjiang cotton totaled 1.5306 million tons, and inspection volumes totaled 1.1058 million tons, down 18% year on year. After growers are more willing to sell, the yearly decrement of inspection volumes narrows gradually. Though the ginning yield of 2021/22 Xinjiang cotton reduces slightly, the quality improves obviously. The supply of cotton with length at 29mm and 30mm and strength at 29gpt and 30gpt increases apparently in North Xinjiang. In South Xinjiang, the quality is inferior compared with that in North Xinjiang, but the quality also improves year on year. The quality structural problem improves, but due to high prices, downstream spinners are still hard to accept the level well. This article shows the yearly change of quality indicators of Xinjiang cotton by Oct 31, to clearly state the improvement on quality.
| 2021/22 Xinjiang cotton color index (volume, by end Oct, KT) | |||
| Color index | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | Yearly change |
| white, grade-1 | 2.88 | 1.85 | -1.03 |
| white, grade-2 | 155.56 | 103.59 | -51.98 |
| white, grade-3 | 885.31 | 783.52 | -101.80 |
| white, grade-4 | 146.32 | 208.35 | 62.03 |
| light spotted, grade-1 | 48.19 | 1.77 | -46.42 |
| light spotted, grade-2 | 74.93 | 4.43 | -70.50 |
| others | 29.04 | 2.32 | -26.72 |
| whilte, grade-3 and above | 1043.76 | 888.96 | -154.80 |
| Total | 1342.24 | 1105.83 | -236.41 |
| Proportion in total | 77.8% | 80.4% | 2.63% |
| Source: China Fibre Inspection Bureau | |||
For color index, proportion of light spotted cotton was high last year, while in 2021/22 season, the proportion of light spotted cotton has decreased obviously, and that of white, grade-3 and white, grade-4 cotton increases. The color index improves. By end Oct, 2021, the proportion of white, grade-4 cotton and above quality approached 99.3%, up 10.6 percentage points from the same period of last year, while the proportion of light spotted, grade-1 and grade-2 cotton declined by 8.6 percentage points.
2. Length
| 2021/22 Xinjiang cotton length index (volume, by end Oct, KT) | |||
| Length | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | Yearly change |
| ≥30mm | 20.24 | 187.20 | 166.97 |
| 29mm | 277.73 | 582.00 | 304.27 |
| 28mm | 742.00 | 307.05 | -434.95 |
| 27mm | 280.37 | 28.79 | -251.57 |
| ＜27mm | 21.91 | 0.79 | -21.12 |
| length 28mm and above | 1039.96 | 1076.25 | 36.28 |
| Total | 1342.24 | 1105.83 | -236.41 |
| Proportion in total | 77.5% | 97.3% | 19.8% |
| Source: China Fibre Inspection Bureau | |||
The quality on length index improves more obviously. The proportion of cotton with 29mm increased by 32 percentage points year on year, and that of cotton with 30mm increased by 15.4 percentage points. The quality structural problem improves apparently. Due to the slower procurement progress this year, the yearly growth of cotton with length at 28mm and above on volumes is lower than that of cotton on proportion. In terms of the proportion, by end Oct, the proportion of cotton with length at 28mm and above approached 97.3%, an increase of 19.8 percentage points year on year.
3. Breaking tenacity
| 2021/22 Xinjiang cotton breaking tenacity (volume, by end Oct, KT) | |||
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | Yearly change | |
| S1 | 17.79 | 94.52 | 76.73 |
| S2 | 273.20 | 504.06 | 230.86 |
| S3 | 1016.14 | 499.74 | -516.40 |
| S4 | 34.93 | 7.51 | -27.43 |
| S5 | 0.18 | 0.01 | -0.16 |
| S3 and above | 1307.13 | 1098.31 | -208.82 |
| Total | 1342.24 | 1105.83 | -236.41 |
| Proportion in total | 97.4% | 99.3% | 1.94% |
| Source: China Fibre Inspection Bureau | |||
The proportion of cotton at S3 declined by 30.5 percentage points year on year, and the strength is close to the 29gpt and above. The proportion of cotton with strength at 29gpt and above rose by 32.5 percentage points from the same period of last year.
4. Length uniformity
| 2021/22 Xinjiang cotton length uniformity (volume, by end Oct, KT) | |||
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | Yearly change | |
| U1 | 0.13 | 0.17 | 0.04 |
| U2 | 292.55 | 415.96 | 123.41 |
| U3 | 1026.02 | 682.29 | -343.73 |
| U4 | 23.45 | 7.38 | -16.07 |
| U5 | 0.09 | 0.03 | -0.06 |
| U3 and above | 1318.70 | 1098.42 | -220.28 |
| Total | 1342.24 | 1105.83 | -236.41 |
| Proportion in total | 98.2% | 99.3% | 1.08% |
| Source: China Fibre Inspection Bureau | |||
The length uniformity also improves somewhat. The proportion of cotton at U2 and above rose by 15.8 percentage points year on year.
5. Micronaire
| 2021/22 Xinjiang cotton micronaire (volume, by end Oct, KT) | |||
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | Yearly change | |
| A, 3.7～4.2 | 19.07 | 47.79 | 28.73 |
| B1, 3.5～3.6 | 0.32 | 1.07 | 0.75 |
| B2, 4.3～4.9 | 694.14 | 715.60 | 21.47 |
| C1, ≤3.4 | 0.14 | 0.26 | 0.12 |
| C2, ≥5.0 | 628.58 | 341.10 | -287.48 |
| A+B | 713.53 | 764.47 | 50.94 |
| Total | 1342.24 | 1105.83 | -236.41 |
| Proportion in total | 53.2% | 69.1% | 16.0% |
| Source: China Fibre Inspection Bureau | |||
For micronaire, the proportion of cotton at C2 declined by 16 percentage points year on year, and the micronaire was close to A and B2. The proportion of cotton at A and B rose by 16 percentage points year on year, accounting for 69.1% in total inspection volumes.
6. Ginning quality
| 2021/22 Xinjiang cotton ginning quality (volume, by end Oct, KT) | |||
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | Yearly change | |
| P1 | 26.50 | 2.90 | -23.60 |
| P2 | 1308.76 | 1096.77 | -211.99 |
| P3 | 6.98 | 6.16 | -0.82 |
| P1+P2 | 1335.26 | 1099.67 | -235.58 |
| Total | 1342.24 | 1105.83 | -236.41 |
| Proportion in total | 99.5% | 99.4% | -0.04% |
| Source: China Fibre Inspection Bureau | |||
The proportion of cotton at P1 declined somewhat, while that of cotton at P2 rose, but the ginning quality remained good in general.
Conclusion
Viewed from the quality indicators, the color index, length, strength and micronaire of new cotton improves apparently this season, and the quality structural problems turns improved. In general, the proportion of cotton that meets the demand of Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange increases from 53.2% last year to 69.1%, and the obvious increase of cotton with 29mm and 29gpt and above gives the new cotton more premiums.
Source: ccfgroup.com