While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made a significant reduction to its production estimate for the 2019-2020 domestic cotton crop, the export market appears to remain strong for U.S. cotton. Vice President of Economics and Policy Analysis for the National Cotton Council, Dr. Jody Campiche said that it has been a record year for American cotton exports.
“USDA did not make any changes to U.S. mill use, or exports for the 2019 crop year. Exports are currently projected at 16.5 million bales for 2019,” Campiche noted. “Export sales have been very strong and current commitments of 11.5 million bales at this point in the marketing year is the second-highest level on record.”
China is responsible for a portion of those commitments and will likely be dependent on continued progress made in trade relations between the U.S. and China. Pakistan is another export market that is showing a significant amount of potential for U.S. cotton. “Pakistan has had production issues for the past five years which has led to higher imports. Sales commitments to Pakistan are currently at 1.4 million bales…so for this crop year, we’re likely to see higher exports at the end of the marketing year,” said Campiche.
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