Higher Chinese cotton crop & lower consumption estimated in 2009
20 Mar '09
1 min read
Latest reports from China suggest the reduction in plantings for the coming 2009/2010 international season (August/July) will not be as profound as was initially anticipated, with farmers being stimulated to sow to cotton by higher domestic prices and confirmation of a government subsidy on good quality planting seed. Cotlook's production estimate has been raised accordingly.
The other development has been a further deterioration in consumption prospects. Nonetheless, we continue to predict a modest increase (1.6 percent) from our reduced forecast for 2008/09.
Whereas our initial projections in February suggested that world stocks would fall very marginally during the course of 2009/2010, changes during the past month point to a rise in the global inventory for the sixth consecutive season.