U.S. EXPORTS: IS QUALITY AT ISSUE?

摘要

U.S. domestic mill consumption of cotton dropped from 2.5 million tons in 1997/98 to 1.6 million tons in 2002/03. Mill consumption is headed lower, while U.S. production remains fairly stable, partially due to the sustaining effect of the government cotton program. Therefore, exports are vita! to the U.S. cotton industry. The U.S. cotton industry was very successful in shifting from the domestic market to the export market. U.S. cotton exports rose to a record of 2.45 million tons in 2002/03, one million tons more than in 2000/01. The export dependency of the U.S. cotton industry is very high, with about two thirds of the crop to be shipped overseas in 2003/04. The U.S. share of world exports is expected to reach 40% in 2003/04, the highest since 1957/58.