According to preliminary statistics from General Department of Customs, cotton imports to Vietnam in December reached 121,171 tonnes with a value of more than 241 million USD, up 1.1% in volume and 1.7% in value compared to with the previous month. Cumulatively for whole year 2023, our country imported more than 1.3 million tonnes of cotton, equivalent to more than 2.8 billion USD, down 6.8% in volume and sharply down 29.7% in value compared to 2022.
Price of cotton imported to Vietnam has dropped to a low level in 2023, reaching 2,117 USD/tonne, leading to a sharp decrease of cotton import turnover, while in 2022, average price of cotton imported to Vietnam is 2,807 USD/tonne.
Regarding import market, Australia has surpassed the US to become the largest cotton supplier to Vietnam in 2023. By the end of December, Vietnam imported 467,718 tons of cotton from Australia with a value of more than 1.01 billion USD, increased 10.6% in volume but decreased 15.8% over the same period last year.
It is worth mentioning that cotton imported from Australia had an extremely cheap price last year with an average of 2,173 USD/ton, down 28% compared to the previous year.
The US is Vietnam's second largest supplier with 416,505 tonnes of cotton, worth more than 912 million USD. India is the third largest cotton supplier with 61,126 tons, worth more than 91 million USD.
Vietnam is the third largest cotton importing country in the world with consumption of 1.5 million tonnes/year. As of 2021, the amount of cotton Vietnam imports from the US accounts for 25% of total US exports and is the country that imports the most cotton from the US in the world. Cotton is an input material for Vietnam's fiber and textile industry.
According to data from International Cotton Association (ICAC), global average cotton price in 2023 is estimated to be 68.6 cents/lb, down 9% compared to the previous year. This is the third consecutive decrease since 2021. The main reason is due to a sharp decrease in consumption demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while production output is still higher than demand, leading to a situation of surplus supply. Global cotton fiber consumption demand is estimated to decrease by 11% compared to the previous year, to 22.9 million tonnes in 2023. In addition, cotton fiber prices are also affected by the price of alternative materials such as polyester and visco, trade policies of countries,...
Entering 2024, cotton prices are forecast to tend to increase as demand gradually recovers. According to the US National Development and Reform Commission, the country will grant cotton import quotas at a sliding tax rate of up to 750,000 tonnes of cotton to state-owned companies. This will further contribute to increasing demand for cotton in the near future.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn