According to China´s National Bureau of Statistics, expansion of cotton fabric output turned negative in the latest month, ending a streak of fourteen consecutive months of year-over-year growth. Output slid -1.8% from July 2007, down to 2.431 billion square meters, but still recorded the second-highest July on record. Over the first seven months of the year, cumulative production stands just shy of 16.3 billion square meters, a record level. But output continues the deceleration begun in 2006, with year-to-date volume up only 5.5% from the same first seven months of last year.

Extending the trend noted here, cotton fabric output in recent months has decelerated at a steeper rate than have fabrics of other fibers. In particular, cotton´s 5.5% year-to-date expansion the slowest in seven years´ lags the 13.9% expansion this year in total fabric production. This implies that cotton´s share of total fabric production is easing. After seeing volume grow faster than total fabric output over the last three years´ therefore implying share was expanding cotton fabric output has grown slower each month this year, eroding cotton´s dominant share of Chinese fabric production. Globecot forecasts 2008 cotton fabric production will still rise this year, but at the slowest pace in x years, reaching a record 29.4 billion square meters.

Source: globecotnews