Although China is the world's second-largest cotton producer, it still faces cotton shortage. The country produced 5.95 million metric tons of cotton during the 2020-2021 season, which ended in January, but the demand was about 7.8 million tons, the China Grain Reserves Group said in a statement on Wednesday night.

Xinjiang manufactured 5.2 million tons of cotton during the season, about 87 percent of the nation's total production, the group said.

To resolve the shortage, China needs to import 2 million tons of cotton from countries including Brazil and India every year, the group said.