As of last Friday, the government offered to sell 437,054 tonnes of cotton from the current crop, but only sold 218,484 tonnes in its auction, based on Reuters calculations.

The average weighted price was 18,564 yuan ($2,900) per tonne, according to the association.

The September cotton futures contracts traded on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange settled at 18,590 yuan ($2,900) per tonne on Monday.