By CHINA/COTTON

BEIJING, Dec 5 (Reuters) - China's cotton planting acreage may not expand in 2012 as cotton farmers' profits have declined this year amid falling prices, the China Cotton Association said on Monday.

Local market prices have been lower than the government's purchase prices as demand from the textile sector is sluggish, it said in a report published on its website.

However, local cotton prices are likely to stabilise with the government's increased purchase volume, it said.
The association's estimate for the country's cotton output this year is 7.28 million tonnes, up 9.3 percent from last year, it said. (Reporting by Zheng Xiaolu and Ken Wills; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)