World cotton output to decline in 2013/14 - USDA

Brazil is forecast to produce 7.0 million bales in 2013/14, up 21 percent from a year earlier. India and Pakistan are forecast to produce 28.0 million bales and 9.5 million bales in 2013/14, up 6 percent and 2 percent, respectively, from the preceding year.

Availability of new information necessitated a revision in India’s 2013/14 crop estimate in July to 28.0 million bales, up 1.0 million bales from the previous month. India’s 2013/14 harvested area is forecast at 12.0 million hectares, up 2 percent from the preceding year but unchanged from the previous month.

China—the world’s largest cotton producer—is forecast to produce 34.0 million bales in 2013/14, down 3 percent from the previous year, as China’s official domestic price support policy appears insufficient to motivate expanded production. The United States is expected to produce 13.5 million bales in 2013/14, down 22 percent from the previous year due to lower planted area across all regions and severe drought affecting production in the Southwest.

Australia’s 2013/14 crop of 4.5 million bales is now forecast to decline only 2 percent from a year ago due to this month’s 300,000-bale increase in the 2012/13 estimate. Global cotton harvested area is forecast at 33.7 million hectares in 2013/14, down 2 percent from the preceding year, while global yield is forecast at 762 kg/hectare.

USDA