USDA's forecasts of 2008/09 world import demand have fallen since June 2008. Deteriorating world economic conditions are dampening consumer demand for textiles and pressuring cotton prices.
The Aindex, which ranged between 70 and 80 cents from June to September, has fallen to just over 57 cents/lb. The forecast for global consumption has fallen by 6 percent since June, largely because consumption in China has fallen from the initial projection of 55 million bales to 51 million bales.
Making this the first year-to-year decline in China's consumption since 1998/99. As a result, world trade has declined by 14 percent from June to November.
United States Department of Agriculture