In May 2019, Vietnam imported 145.1kt of cotton, a fall of 0.8% year on year, while an increase of 2.8% month on month. In Jan-May, cotton imports totaled 665.6kt, down 2% year on year, the first time to see the yearly decrease. The total imports may reach 1.52 million tons this year based on current growth rate, down 31kt from 2018.
1. Cotton imports decline year on year
Vietnam’s textile industry maintains the fast development with high growth rate, but the growth rate is slower compared to the corresponding period of last year, but higher than that in 2017. In May, textiles and garments export value reached 2.733 billion USD, up 16.1% year on year and 27.3% month on month. In the first five months of 2019, exports totaled 12.017 billion USD, up 10.1% year on year. Based on current growth rate, the export value could reach 33.5 billion USD in 2019, an increase of 2.08 billion USD from 2018.
In May, Vietnam imported 145.1kt of cotton, a fall of 0.8% year on year, while an increase of 2.8% month on month. In Jan-May, cotton imports totaled 665.6kt, down 2% year on year. The total imports may reach 1.52 million tons this year based on current growth rate, down 31kt from 2018.
2. Imports of US cotton hit a new high of 110kt
In May, the major import origin of Vietnam remained the US cotton. US cotton imports reached 110kt in May, a new high in recent four years. It was traditional arriving period for US cotton at present. With on-going Sino-US trade war, market shares of US cotton in China reduced, which led to lower basis, which was benefited for Southeast Asia buyers.
| Cotton imports of Vietnam and unit prices in May, 2019 |
| Origins |
Volumes (ton) |
Yearly change |
Monthly change |
Unit price (cent/lb) |
| US |
111,492 |
16% |
11% |
83.4 |
| Brazil |
4,979 |
-13% |
-62% |
81.9 |
| India |
3,967 |
-83% |
-48% |
64.4 |
| Cote d'ivoire |
2,783 |
-61% |
4% |
84 |
| Indonesia |
1,965 |
275% |
133% |
51.1 |
| Australia |
1,020 |
-48% |
-41% |
89.3 |
| Pakistan |
949 |
130% |
39% |
57 |
| Argentina |
694 |
/ |
-25% |
78.1 |
| South Korea |
479 |
-21% |
-6% |
68.9 |
| Mainland China |
191 |
635% |
-16% |
72.8 |
| Singapore |
164 |
/ |
/ |
91 |
| Taiwan China |
63 |
19% |
-22% |
68.6 |
| Other |
16,382 |
68% |
33% |
81.3 |
In Jan-May, imports of US cotton totaled 419.4kt, up 18.01% from the same period of last year, that of Indian cotton 78.8kt, down 43.12%, Brazilian cotton 65.2kt, down 23.97%, and Australian cotton 15.6kt, up 54.75%.
International cotton prices declined quickly in May, and purchasing volumes of forward shipments increased obviously, especially that China procured Brazilian cotton and Southeast Asian buyers purchased US cotton. For Vietnam, it is expected that US cotton imports may remain large in Jul. However, with the escalation of Sino-US trade war in May, cotton textile products decreased overall, and Vietnamese cotton yarn has high dependency on China, and is hard to sell the cotton yarn to other countries on large quantity, so mills in Vietnam cut prices to sell to China, but buying from China remained weak.
Currently, cotton and yarn inventory is accumulating in Vietnam, and profits are unfavorable, so buying for US cotton weakens in early Jun. The key is to see whether Chinese yarn market will stabilize or not. Before the meeting of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, the orders are expected to be limited.
