The China Cotton Association said Wednesday that the country's cotton output will likely reach 6.8 million metric tons this year, up from its previous estimate of 6.7 million tons.
Weather conditions in major producing regions were favorable for crop growth in October, compensating the negative impact of wet weather earlier, the association said in a monthly market report posted on its Web site.
According to the association, growers it surveyed said that 82% of their crops had been harvested and 57% sold by end-October, according to the association.
China is the world's largest cotton producer, consumer and importer. Its production totaled 7.5 million-8 million tons last year.
Meanwhile, domestic prices extended a rally that started in early October, despite the start of a new round of state reserve auctions last Friday, when the China National Cotton Reserves Corp. started to sell 139,000 tons of cotton from 2008's harvest and 360,000 tons from the 2006-07 harvest.
The weighted average price of Tuesday's auction rose to CNY15,352 ($2,248) a ton, up from CNY14,974/ton Friday.
China had sold 2.12 million tons of cotton over the past few months to ensure domestic supply, but the expectations of lower production this year prompted traders and textile firms to buy actively, concerned that prices will rise even higher.
