Record cotton stocks expected

Cotton stocks outside of China are estimated to rise to 9.5 million tons by the end of the 2014/15 season, the largest volume in 35 years, according to the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).

As reported by sportstextiles.com, China’s stocks are expected to remain stable reaching just over 12 million tons in 2014/15, after increasing substantially in each of the three previous seasons, and will account for 56 percent of total stock. China ended its reserve policy at the start of last year and announced it was limiting imports to the volume required under its World Trade Organization obligations.

Meanwhile, the report says while the United States, the world’s largest exporter, will be affected by declines in imports by China and Turkey—the world’s third largest importer— demand for high-quality machine-picked cotton will help to limit export losses. For the period, U.S. production is estimated at 3.5 million tons, up 25 percent from 2013/14, and exports are forecast to increase modestly by 2 percent to 2.3 million.

Consumption in Turkey is forecast to fall 4 percent to 1.3 million tons as mills equipped with old machinery are closed and cotton’s market share declines as a result of the price attractiveness of synthetic fibers.

The International Cotton Advisory Committee is a Washington, D.C.-based association of governments of cotton producing and consuming countries.