A record-high global cotton mill use is forecast for 2019-20 season, according to the initial projections by the US department of agriculture (USDA). World cotton consumption in 2019-20 is expected to reach 125.9 mn bales, 3.2 mn (2.6 per cent) above 2018-19 and 1.7 mn bales above the previous record established in 2006-07.
World cotton consumption has exceeded production during four of the last five seasons. “Improving growth in global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 is expected to support cotton consumption. China, India, and Pakistan—the leading spinners of raw cotton—are projected to account for a combined 62 per cent of the total, similar to 2018-19,” USDA said in its latest ‘Cotton and Wool Outlook’ report.
World cotton production is forecast at nearly 125.5 mn bales in 2019-20, a six per cent increase from 2018-19’s global crop that had weather-related reductions in some of the major producing countries, the USDA report said. The moderate production growth forecast for 2019-20 is largely the result of increased crop expectations for the US and India. Based on USDA’s initial projections, India, China, and the US—the leading producing countries—are forecast to account for a combined 62 per cent of global cotton production in 2019-20, slightly above 2018-19.
