HANOI: During December, according to Vietnam Customs, imports of raw cotton totalled 84,050 tonnes or almost 20,000 tonnes more than during the same month in 2015. The total included 51,579 tonnes attributed to Foreign Direct Invested enterprises. The main sources of supply were the United States (32,310 tonnes), Brazil (18,840) and India (12,090). During the first five months of the 2016/17 statistical season, commencing August 1, cumulative imports were 426,325 tonnes, almost nine percent more than during the same period in 2015 and no less than 38 percent above the comparable figure in 2014.
The main change would appear to concern imports from the United States, which are shown at over 201,000 tonnes so far during 2016/17, or more than double the previous year’s figure. Gains are also shown for Brazil and Australia. The figure for ‘others’ is the difference between the monthly total reported by Customs and the sum of figures disclosed for individual countries.
