SUMMARY OF THE OUTLOOK FOR COTTON

摘要

The volume of cotton traded internationally is expected to decline by 8% to 8.1 million tons in 2014/15, which would be the second season in which international cotton trade declined. In 2013/14, the volume of cotton traded fell by 12% to 8.8 milliontons. The decline is driven by the reduced shipments to China from a record of 5.3 million tons in 2011/12 to an anticipated 2.1 million tons 2014/15. In contrast, shipments to other countries are forecast to increase to nearly 6 million tons in 2014/15. Most of these shipments are going to other parts of Asia as the spinning industry has shifted away from China to other countries in the region.