由于我国棉花供需缺口持续扩大,国外棉商已视中国市场为必争之地,目前正在加紧争夺国内市场。据海关统计,在过去5年多,我国累计进口棉花830多万吨,仅2006年前7个月,进口棉花就高达274万吨,已超过2005年全年的进口量,其中美国棉花占了一半以上。国产棉花难以满足不断扩大的产需缺口,印度、澳大利亚等产棉国,甚至非洲一些小国都开始加紧筹划瓜分我国市场。 As China’s cotton supply and demand gap continues to widen, foreign cotton traders have regarded the Chinese market as a must, and are now stepping up competition for the domestic market. According to the statistics of the Customs, in the past five years or more, China has imported more than 8.3 million tons of cotton. Only in the first 7 months of 2006, the imported cotton reached as high as 2.74 million tons, exceeding the annual imports for 2005, of which the United States accounted for more than half. Domestic cotton is hard to meet the ever-widening gap between production and demand. Cotton producing countries such as India and Australia, and even some small African countries, have started to step up preparations to divide their market in China.