MUMBAI (Commoditiescontrol) - The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has released December supply-demand for 2018-19 season, which revealed lower global cotton production and demand.
The global cotton production during 2018-19 is expected to drop first time since 2015-16 by 2% y/y at 26.1 million tonnes, after consecutive increases of 7% and 16% in the two prior seasons, said ICAC.
A number of producers are expected to show increases — including China, Brazil, West Africa, Turkey and Uzbekistan — but it likely won’t be enough to offset decreases in the United States, India, Australia and Pakistan, according to ICAC.
Consumption, which managed to post a 9% increase to 26.8 million tonnes in 2017/18, is forecast to drop slightly to 26.7 million tonnes in the coming year. The tariffs imposed in the much-publicized trade war between the USA and China are not expected to influence consumption directly, although they could affect textile demand if they have a slowing effect on economic growth, as per latest release by ICAC.
Globally, stocks are expected to decrease from 18.8 million tonnes to 18.2 million tonnes, due almost exclusively to big decreases in China’s warehouses. The world outside of China actually will see a minor gain in stocks, but not enough to offset the declines in China, where the projected total of 7.6 million tonnes would represent the country’s lowest levels since 2011/12.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau; +91-22-40015533)