The global cotton crop will rise 5 percent, to 23 million tonnes, this year although plantings are declining for the second year in a row, according to the forecast by the International Cotton Advisory Council. The intergovernmental body said market prices, depressed for years, will improve as the worldwide cotton glut shrinks during 2016/17.
Cotton prices would average 72 cents per pound in the 2016/17 marketing year, up 2 cents from the preceding year, according to the Cotlook A Index.
Growers are expected to plant 31 million hectares of cotton this year, down marginally from 2015/16. Among major growers, plantings would drop 10 percent in China and 5 percent in Pakistan. The No. 1 grower, India, was expected to expand plantings slightly. Higher yields would result in higher production worldwide. But consumption would outpace production for the second year in a row and reduce the cotton inventory to a 10-month supply.