#Raw Materials

2020-06-03

Stocks to reach highest level in five years as consumption and trade suffer during pandemic

Falling consumption amidst rising production and ending stocks (c) 2020 ICAC

As noted last month, the May, June and July issues of Cotton This Month and Cotton Update are being offered free of charge to all. It is part of the ICAC's COVID-19 strategy to provide as much information as possible to hold the supply chain together until the pandemic is over.

Highlights from the June 2020 Cotton This Month include:

Global consumption is expected to decline 11.3% in 2019/20
If production rises 2% this season as projected, ending stock levels will swell to 21.75 million tonnes
Global trade is forecast to fall to 8.34 million tonnes in 2019/20

Global trade is expected to fall to 8.34 million tonnes in 2019/20, a 9.6% decrease from the previous season. Recovery for the coming 2020/21 season is expected to be modest under the current IMF projections for economic recovery.

China, the world’s top consumer, is expected to fall 12% to 7.25 million tonnes. India is projected to suffer its own 12% slide to 4.75 million tonnes. Others feeling the pain include Pakistan (-7%), Turkey (-8%), Vietnam (-8%), Brazil (-11%) and Bangladesh (-25%).

Stocks to reach highest level in five years as consumption and trade suffer during pandemic

It appears that the expected impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on this season are, unfortunately, developing the way everyone feared they would:

Consumption is expected to be 23 million tonnes in 2019/20, down 11.3% from the prior year.
Global trade is projected to decline 9.6% to 8.34 million tonnes.
With production expected to increase by 2% to 26.2 million tonnes, stocks could swell to 21.75 million tonnes — the highest they’ve been in five years.

PLEASE NOTE: During this time of crisis, nothing is more important than information you can trust — which is why the ICAC is making both Cotton This Month and Cotton Update free to every for May, June and July.

www.icac.org

Organic cotton at the crossroads: Ideology, evidence, and the road ahead

Organic cotton occupies one of the most contentious spaces in global agriculture. While praised by brands and consumers for its environmental ideals, it also faces persistent questions about yield stability, certification integrity, and scalability. The current edition of The ICAC Recorder cuts through the ideology to deliver a rigorous, evidence-based assessment of both sides of the debate.

Dr N Vigneshwaran is named 2026 ICAC Researcher of the Year

The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) is pleased to announce the selection of Dr N Vigneshwaran, Principal Scientist and Head of the Chemical and Biochemical Processing Division at the ICAR–Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (ICAR-CIRCOT), Mumbai, India, as the ICAC Researcher of the Year 2026.

Bremen Cotton Exchange: Fritz A. Grobien re-elected as President

The members of the Bremen Cotton Exchange have re-elected Fritz A. Grobien as President during the association’s 152nd General Assembly on June 18, 2026. The election confirms the organization’s commitment to maintaining its role as a leading international platform for the cotton and fiber industry amid a period of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

Christian Wichert appointed Chief Executive Officer to lead next phase of growth

AMSilk GmbH (“AMSilk”), a global leader in advanced biomaterials made from silk proteins, today announces the appointment of Christian Wichert as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective 1 June. The appointment marks a pivotal moment in AMSilk’s journey, as the Company advances from development through scale-up to commercialization.

New U.S. cotton study uses real-world grower data to reveal where fiber impacts occur

Cotton Incorporated has released a critically reviewed life cycle assessment (LCA) of U.S. cotton fiber production that examines how cotton’s environmental impacts are measured and where meaningful improvements can be made across the value chain. The new data, grounded in real‑world grower inputs, measures what drives U.S. cotton’s environmental footprint from field to gin.

HKRITA signs MoU with Jeanologia and Looptworks to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) yesterday officially signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two key global partners, Jeanologia and Looptworks, to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem – a first-of-its-kind collaboration to accelerate the large-scale recycling of blended textiles.

Object Carpet tests production of rPET BCF yarn on Neumag BCF line

In a joint project with Object Carpet GmbH, Denkendorf; the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA), Augsburg; and Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH (NGR), Feldkirchen, Austria, Barmag investigated the processing of recycled polyester for BCF yarn. The goal was to evaluate the fundamental suitability of 100% recycled carpet material for reuse in carpet yarn production to create a closed-loop system in carpet manufacturing. To date, commercial rPET BCF processes have been based solely on rPET from bottle pellets.

MEL Composites supports ELA Aviation with advanced composite materials

MEL Composites is supplying advanced composite materials and process consumables to ELA Aviation for the production of its next-generation gyroplanes. The collaboration underlines MEL Composites’ growing role in advanced aerospace mobility, providing lightweight materials designed to improve aircraft performance, manufacturing efficiency and structural reliability.