The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine released a white paper on “Quality Situation of Imported Cotton in the Country”

Recently, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China published a white paper on the “Quality Status of National Imported Cotton in 2014” on its portal website, notifying the statistical data and information on the supervision of imported cotton by entry-exit inspection and quarantine agencies in 2014.
In 2014, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine firmly adhered to the twelve-word work policy of “grasping quality, ensuring safety, promoting development, and strengthening quality inspection”, and in accordance with the relevant requirements of the “Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Imported Cotton Inspection” (General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Order No. 151), efforts were made to Improve the pertinence, standardization and effectiveness of cotton inspection and supervision work, and ensure that cotton inspection and supervision work is implemented effectively. Efforts should be made to ensure responsible, responsible and effective supervision, continuously improve inspection quality and efficiency, ensure the quality and safety of imported cotton, and effectively safeguard the economic interests of my country’s cotton-using enterprises and the economic security of the textile industry.
In 2014, national entry-exit inspection and quarantine agencies inspected a total of 9,415 batches of imported cotton, totaling 2.7584 million tons, with a total value of US$5.81 billion; compared with 2013, the number of batches decreased by 37.46%, the weight decreased by 33.80%, and the value decreased by 31.41%. In 2014, the country imported cotton from 40 countries and regions around the world; India, the United States, Australia, Uzbekistan, and Brazil ranked among the top five in terms of imported cotton value.
The overall quality of imported cotton arrivals in 2014 is not optimistic. Except for the micronaire failure rate, which has declined compared with the same period last year, the grade, length, and strength failure rates have all increased compared with the same period last year. The overall average non-compliance rates for cotton’s four major evaluation indicators – grade, length, micronaire and fiber strength – were 13.38%, 4.43%, 4.18% and 3.97% respectively. Inspection and quarantine agencies issued a total of 6,708 quality claim certificates to foreign countries, with a quality claim amount of US$41.7028 million; they issued 8,148 weight claim certificates, with a weight claim amount of US$54.9552 million; the two claims totaled US$96.48 million, accounting for the total value of imported goods. 1.66%, saving huge economic losses for the country and enterprises.
The main problems found in imported cotton during inspections in 2014 are:
First, there are multiple origins and multiple batches of cotton sold in batches, making it difficult to ensure consistency and causing downgrades.
Second, the quality difference between the samples sold based on samples and the actual arriving cotton is too large.
Third, non-standard packaging of cotton bales causes contamination of cotton bales and decreases in quality.
Fourth, the phenomenon of short weight is serious, and some batches have short packaging.
Fifth, there are phenomena such as mixed waste cotton, foreign fibers, mildew, and hardening.
Sixth, a small number of overseas supply companies are dishonest and engage in fraud.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has conducted an in-depth analysis of the main problems existing in imported cotton, and combined with my country’s domestic cotton demand and the development trend of imported cotton, it has adopted various measures such as credit management and arrival inspection to ensure the quality of imported cotton.
The release of this white paper will provide useful help and guidance to cotton-using enterprises, and also provide suggestions and references for regulatory authorities at all levels to carry out inspection and supervision of imported cotton. It will also provide basic data support for the macro-quality management and development strategy of the cotton industry. .