As per the latest report, global 2014/15 cotton production is projected at 119.2 million bales, 1 per cent below last season.
China and India account for half of the world crop, each contributing an estimated 30 million bales of cotton production in 2014/15.
“As world prices have fallen, global production has followed and has declined for three consecutive seasons to its lowest since 2010/11, with harvested area being the second lowest in 4 years,” the report said.
Mill use in China is forecast at 35 million bales this season, compared with 34.5 million bales in 2013/14 and as against 50 million bales in 2009/10.
Policies in China continue to make cotton yarn imports a viable option for textile mills, with India, Pakistan, and Vietnam being the leading cotton yarn suppliers to China.
India’s 2014/15 cotton consumption is projected at a record 24.2 million bales, an increase of 200,000 bales from March, as higher imports and lower exports ensure adequate supplies to mills.
India’s cotton mill use in 2014/15 is about 3.5 per cent above 2013/14 and Pakistan is forecast to use 10.6 million bales of cotton in 2014/15, again a 100,000-bale increase this month and 2 per cent above last season.
Vietnam, like India and Pakistan, is benefiting from China’s cotton yarn import demand, with cotton mill use in Vietnam projected at a record 3.85 million bales in 2014/15, 70 per cent more from 2 years earlier.
Global cotton trade is projected at 34.3 million bales for 2014/15, 16 per cent below the previous season and 27 per cent below 2012/13.