Cotton plantings in the Southern Hemisphere are forecast for 3 million hectares in 2014/15, down 12 percent from last season and the smallest total in five years, due to low market prices, said the International Cotton Advisory Council. The intergovernmental body said production could fall to 2.6 million tonnes, a drop of 18 percent, and equal to 10 percent of ICAC’s forecast for the crop worldwide. The decline in the Southern Hemisphere would be offset by larger output in the North. Although cotton usage is forecast to rise by 4 percent, the cotton surplus was forecast to grow to 21.4 million tonnes, a 10-month supply.
Cotton plantings in Australia are forecast down by 28 percent, with the smallest crop in five years likely, said ICAC. “The ongoing drought in Australia has left soil dry and reduced irrigation supplies.”