CONAB estimates Brazil's cotton output at 1.64mn tons

According to the sixth survey on crops for the 2013-14 season by CONAB, the country is expected to produce 1.64 million tons of cotton during the current season, which is a significant increase of around 25.4 percent, compared to the cotton produced during the previous season.

As per CONAB estimates, during the 2013-14 harvest period the total demand for cotton, including domestic consumption and exports, is pegged at 1.47 million tons.

Earlier during January, CONAB revealed its forecasts for the current season, and estimated that Brazil would export around 540,000 tons of cotton during the 2013-14 season.

In October 2013, CONAB estimated that cotton production in the country would reach 1.67 million tons during the 2013-14 harvest season, and the area planted for cotton cultivation would also rise from 16.8 percent to 22.5 percent in 2013-14.

Cotton production totaled 1.3 million tons for the harvest period of 2012-13, which was 31.8 percent lower than the 2011-12 harvest period. The area planted for cotton during the period was 894,000 hectares which was 35.9 percent less compared to 2011-12 season. However, cotton yield during 2012-13 was 1,444 kilos per hectare, which was an increase of 6.3 percent year-on-year.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India