CHINA, the world's largest cotton grower and consumer, may not boost imports in the new marketing year because domestic supplies are ample and demand for textile products is sluggish, the China Cotton Association said.

A "considerable" amount of the crop harvested in the year that ended August 31, including 350,000 tons from Xinjiang, the country's biggest producing region, will be added to this year's stockpiles, the association said yesterday in a report posted on its Website. With the bulk of the new crop hitting the market soon, textile mills are "more cautious" with buying and domestic cotton prices will fall further, the group said.