A rebound in cotton plantings and yields in 2016 resulted in a dramatic surge in exports in the trade year that ended Aug. 1, according to USDA’s monthly Cotton and Wool Outlook. “A large supply of high-quality cotton pushed shipments to the second-highest on record.”
Exports of 14.9 million bales weighing 480 pounds each amounted to a 63-percent increase from the 9.15 million bales exported in the 2015/16 trade year, and second only to the record 18.04 million bales of 2005/06, when growers picked the largest crop on record, 23.89 million bales. This year’s cotton crop is forecast for 21.76 million bales, the largest in 12 years. USDA forecasts another year of huge cotton exports — 14.9 million bales in the current trade year — a 39-percent share of the world market.
Farmers around the world planted more cotton this year because it offered a better chance for profit than alternative crops. Global cotton production is forecast to be the largest in five years, 120.8 million bales, up 13 percent from last year. With the large global crop, the season-average cotton price for U.S. growers is estimated at 60 cents a pound during the 2017/18 trade year, down 8 cents from last season.