USDA Reports Significant Uptick in Upland Cotton Sales, Signaling Potential Demand Revival

NEW DELHI, Aug 29: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its latest export data for the period of August 16-22, indicating a notable recovery in demand for US Upland cotton. Net sales for the 2024/2025 marketing year, which began on August 1, surged to 135,200 running bales (RB), marking a 45.38% increase from the previous week’s sales of 93,000 RB. This uptick suggests that demand for US cotton is on the rise after a period of slower activity.

The majority of the sales were driven by strong demand from key markets, including Pakistan (74,500 RB, including decreases of 2,200 RB), India (17,800 RB), Vietnam (14,400 RB, including decreases of 2,400 RB), Mexico (9,000 RB, including decreases of 8,100 RB), and Thailand (5,900 RB, including decreases of 900 RB). However, these gains were partially offset by reductions in sales to El Salvador (2,000 RB), Indonesia (1,500 RB), and Japan (100 RB).

Looking ahead, net sales for the 2025/2026 marketing year totaled a modest 700 RB, all of which were destined for Japan.

Exports during the week were also robust, totaling 144,200 RB, with the primary destinations being China (29,200 RB), Vietnam (21,900 RB), Pakistan (18,200 RB), Turkey (11,900 RB), and Bangladesh (11,500 RB).

Pima

In the Pima cotton segment, net sales for the 2024/2025 marketing year reached 21,900 RB, with India (5,300 RB), Peru (5,200 RB), Egypt (4,400 RB), China (4,400 RB), and Brazil (900 RB switched from Peru) leading the purchases. Pima exports during the week amounted to 11,100 RB, with China (4,500 RB), Vietnam (2,000 RB), India (1,900 RB), Peru (1,100 RB), and Pakistan (400 RB) as the top destinations.

Optional origin sales for the 2024/2025 marketing year showed an outstanding balance of 8,800 RB, all attributed to Pakistan. Additionally, new exports for own account during the same period totaled 3,200 RB, primarily to Taiwan (2,300 RB) and China (900 RB). Notably, 87,100 RB were applied to new or outstanding sales, with the largest volumes going to China (61,100 RB) and Vietnam (11,500 RB).

Overall, the data points to a promising recovery in demand for US cotton, particularly in key Asian markets, which could signal a positive trend moving forward.

(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau; +91 98201 30172)