East China's Jiangsu province bought 192,000 tons of cotton from abroad in the first five months of this year, up 280 percent from the same period last year, according to the provincial customs.

 
The imports were valued at $330 million, up 420 percent, with the average price up 39.1 percent to $1,700 per ton.

Of the total imports, 50.2 percent, or 96,000 tons, were bought from India, up 870 percent.