An average of 4 million piculs of raw cotton has been purchased from abroad during each of the past three years. It will also be seen that the United States dominated the China market during 1931 and 1932, og she has always dominated
of quantity: it is usually concede he world cotton situation in point that Egypt takes the lead for quality. As in the previous yea price was the great inducement in the case of purchases from America, official interference with the market in that country having proved of no avail in arresting the downward
per pound, the lowest price recorded trend of prices; 6 gold dollar cents ince 1804, was reached at one time during the year under review. The Indisn crop was scanty. Prices for Chinese cotton ranged from about Sh. Tls. 27 to Sh. Tis, 95 per picul for ordinary qualities, but the spot [price for Lingpao fibre reached Tis.
Almost exactly double the quan-[tity of cotton yarn imported in 1931 was brought in from abroad during the year under review, but leven so the 1932, imports were Tittle more than half the quantity arriving during 1930. It may reasonably be assumed from these figures that the spinning industries in this country suffered a slight-year, particularly through the sus-setback owing to the events of the Pension of business and the embar-Fassment caused to factories in the Shanghai area and elsewhere by restricted credit facilities, but that by no means all the ground recently gained against foreign importations has been lost. Great Britain derived good deal" of benefit. from her abandonment of the gold standard, and orders placed in that country: towards the end of 1931 were readily. taken into consumption here until the outbreak of hostilities, In the matter of importations, Lancashire supplies easily dominated the China. market for foreign yarn, but whether sales did or can hold th lead against the recent heavy fall the xchange is another question, Yarn manufactured in China hardly realised prices high enough to cover costs in the early part of 1932, owing to the poor economic us ruling, but the demand and prices offering for the finer count Chinese yarns improved during the course of the year and the market was fairly steady at the close.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.