Pakistan replaced Bangladesh to emerge as the largest buyer of Indian cotton in the October-December quarter. Pakistan suffered crop damage due to the white fly virus. India’s cotton exports to other countries are also likely to remain significantly up this year. Around a third of the crop in Pakistan was damaged. So textile mills there imported cotton from India to meet their requirements.

India transports cotton to Pakistan primarily through the Wagah border. Meanwhile, the global scenario is also changing due to a slowdown in demand from China, which contributed to 24 per cent of India’s overall cotton exports in 2014-15. This year, however, China’s share is likely to decline.

China’s cotton imports may fall by 40 per cent this year due to a fall in consumption and lower domestic cotton prices. If the pace of its imports remains steady, Vietnam may overtake China as the largest importer of cotton in the world in 2015-16. Cotton imports by Vietnam are estimated to rise by 17 per cent. Imports by Bangladesh are forecast to increase by 12 per cent.

Consumption in both Vietnam and Bangladesh is increasing steadily, due to lower production costs, but both produce very little cotton, and instead must rely on imports to meet demand.