#Raw Materials

2020-09-30

‘Cotton: Review of the world situation’: Latest outlook, yields in India, African exports and price volatility

‘Cotton: Review of the World Situation’: Latest Outlook, Yields in India, African Exports and Price Volatility Although the September 2020 edition of 'Cotton: Review of the World Situation’ doesn't directly focus on COVID-19, it's impossible to disregard the pandemic's impact when discussing the current and future outlook for the cotton industry — especially when the topics include the near-term market outlook and price volatility.

Highlights from the September 2020 issue of the ‘Review’ include:

Summary of the outlook for cotton

Is yield always a concern for Indian growers?

Improving the export competitiveness of African countries

Cotton price volatility in 2019/20

Those are two of the four feature articles in the September 2020 Review; the others address whether yields should be important to Indian cotton growers (they are and should be) and how to improve the export competitiveness of the countries in Africa, which primarily export their raw cotton fibre.

Keeping the fibre and transforming raw cotton into finished goods like clothing and apparel would generate far more income for those countries.

Going forward, both demand and supply factors are putting downward pressure on cotton prices and are likely to increase the range of movement of cotton prices in the short term. However, if the global economic situation stabilises and cotton consumption prospects improve, then volatility in 2020/21 could remain low.