Brazilian cotton exports skyrocket

19 Sep '12

2 min read

Cotton exports from Brazil, the world’s third largest cotton producing nation, have grown significantly during the current year both in the terms of value as well as volume.

So far, Brazil has exported cotton worth US$ 940 million, which is almost double the US$ 410 million worth of cotton exports made during the corresponding period of previous year, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

Volume-wise, the country exported 483,000 tons of cotton, which is 146 percent more than 196,000 tons of cotton exported during the same period in 2011.

In spite of rise in export volumes, the average export price has fallen by seven percent from US$ 2,000 per ton to US$ 1,900 per ton.

Among provinces, Mato Gorsso topped the list with cotton exports worth US$ 445.4 million, followed by Bahia which shipped cotton worth US$ 352.3 million.

According to the analysis of the Secretariat of Agribusiness International Relations, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), derived on basis of data from the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC), Mato Gorsso and Bahia jointly contributed about 81 percent to the country’s overall cotton production.

During August 2012, though the export volume soared from August 2011’s 118,000 tons to 120,000 tons, the total export value plummeted from US$ 252 million in August 2011 to US$ 244 million.

As per the National Supply Company (Conab), the country’s overall cotton production for the 2011-12 season is likely to come to around 1.8 million tons.

Brazilian cotton has undergone drastic change over the past 10 years, with the entire sowing, cultivation and harvesting system switching from manual to a fully mechanized one, following which, Brazilian cotton today has a 60 percent high productivity level as compared to the US cotton.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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