cotton
Lowest U.S. corn, soy, wheat prices in a decade
The outlook for commodity prices has worsened since last fall due to large harvests that fattened stockpiles around the world, said USDA chief economist Robert Johansson at the annual Outlook Forum.
Polyester beats cotton; will Vietnam beat China?
Low oil prices are translating into low prices for polyester fiber, especially in China, which produces nearly three-fourths of the world's polyester, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
Cottonseed subsidy request would cost $1 billion
The cotton industry request for USDA to make cottonseed eligible for subsidy as an oilseed raises several policy questions including where to find the $1 billion a year that the program would cost, say four economists. Market prices are so low that payments are certain if Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack approves the request to declare cottonseed an "other oilseed" covered by the subsidies offered to grain and soybean growers.
Decision soon on ‘complicated’ request for cottonseed oil subsidy
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he is looking at every factor, including trade rules and budgetary effects, in the cotton industry's request that he declare cottonseed oil eligible for the same subsidies offered to grains and soybeans.
Larger cotton crop in Australia despite low prices
The Southern Hemisphere ordinarily plays a small role in cotton production, growing 8-10 percent of the world crop. This season is shaping up differently, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee, with the hemisphere expected to account for 11 percent of global output.
Soy growers back cotton as an oilseed
The farm group representing U.S. soybean growers gave its support to making cotton eligible for crop subsidies as an oilseed as well as having its own subsidy program as a textile fiber. Soybeans and cotton are grown throughout the South and Southwest.
Sharply smaller crops for two big cotton producers
Two of the four largest cotton-growing nations in the world are harvesting markedly smaller crops this year, says the monthly World Agricultural Production report. Low commodity prices are a factor for the reductions in China and Pakistan, along with local conditions.
USDA weighs whether to give two crop subsidies to cotton
The Agriculture Department is considering whether to let cotton growers claim two crop subsidies at the same time to offset a worldwide collapse in the cotton market, said a spokeswoman.
Slow down in cotton usage will keep global stocks high
With the IMF lowering its forecast of global economic growth, there will be less demand for cotton and cotton stockpiles will remain large and prices stubbornly low, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee. In a monthly report, the intergovernmental body said cotton prices would average 70 cents a pound this marketing year, compared to 71 cents in the previous season.
Cotton, “the fabric of our lives,” seeks oilseed subsidy
Congress rewrote the cotton program in the 2014 farm law to resolve a WTO ruling that U.S. subsidies distorted world trade. In doing so, it replaced the longtime subsidy program with revenue insurance and loans, reflecting the industry's wishes.
China’s share of cotton market shrinks by two-thirds
Burdened by a two-year supply of cotton in its warehouses, China is scaling back dramatically on imports of the fiber. The International Cotton Advisory Council estimates China will import less than 1.4 million tonnes of cotton during this marketing year, down 24 percent from last year.
China’s cotton crop is smallest in 12 years
China will harvest its smallest cotton crop - 26 million bales - since 2003/04 as it tries to whittle down a stockpile equal to two years of consumption, says the Cotton and Wool Outlook.
China’s cotton plantings plunge to record low
Cotton production is plummeting in China, the world's largest importer and consumer of the textile, says USDA.
Glutted with cotton, China likely to limit imports again
China is likely to restrict cotton imports to the minimum required under world trade rules for the second year in a row as it tries to work down a massive surplus of the fiber, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
As advantages shift, an upturn for U.S. cotton spinning
Rising costs for textile companies in Asia are prompting an upturn in cotton spinning - converting raw cotton into yarn - in the U.S. South, says the New York Times.
Vietnam surges as cotton user; India tops China as grower
China is the heavyweight of the world cotton market. It is the largest importer and user of cotton on earth but it is forecast to lose its position as the world's largest grower to India this year.
China to sell some surplus cotton, but stocks will remain large
The Chinese government offered to sell 4.6 million bales, or 1 million tonnes, of state-owned cotton at prices ranging from 97 cents to $1.13 per pound from a stockpile estimated at nearly 67 million bales.
Obama signs law easing rules on inspection of foreign cotton
President Obama signed into law HR 2620, which backers say will encourage development of new types of cotton futures contracts that help growers hedge their risks.
Hurricane slashes Georgia cotton crop by 20 percent
High winds and heavy rains from Hurricane Helene destroyed one-fifth of the cotton crop in Georgia, the second-largest cotton state in the nation, said the USDA's monthly Crop Production report. The USDA estimated that growers would harvest 1.65 million bales of cotton weighing 480 pounds each, down by 400,000 bales from a pre-hurricane estimate.