The Chinese cotton growers have expressed worry that their business will be hit further if imported cotton quotas are boosted.

China Cotton Association reported that China imported some 2.07 million tons of cotton in the first five months this year, up 237% year-on-year.

As of May, the import volume tripled to 3.15 million tons for the current cotton year counted from September 2005 when compared with the same period of the preceding cotton year.

Previously, the textile industry expressed that cotton supply in China will see a gap of 1.7 million tons starting from July, urging the government to increase the import quota further in order to fill the demand.

However, China Cotton Association said the supply including the inventory and the current import volume could fill the demand up to August, and there is no need to boost the import quota as soon as in July.

On top of the quota issue, another challenge faced by the cotton growers is that Chinese cotton is less price-competitive than imported cotton, and buyers have always opted for the latter.

China Cotton Association said that that domestic cotton yield will reach 6 million tons by the end of this year and the area of cotton field will reach 80 million acreage, predicting that cotton demand in China for the year will be around 10 million tons.