Highlights from the August 2021 Cotton This Month include:

• Global production is expected to increase by 3% to 25 million tonnes in 2021/22
  

• Consumption posted a 12.4% increase to 25.5 million tonnes in 2020/21, with a similar performance expected in 2021/22
  

• Concerns remain due to Covid-19's stubbornness, with threats from factory closings and logistical problems looming in Bangladesh and Vietnam

The increase will be led by:

The USA, which is projected to reach 3.8 million tonnes, up 22% from the season before,

India, whose production is expected to remain high in 2021/22 (5.9 million tonnes), and

Brazil, which hasn't publicly announced its production area and forecasts yet because sowing won't begin until November but still should reach about 2.3 million tonnes.

On the bright side, global cotton consumption and trade have seen a welcome recovery in the 2020/21 season, with consumption increasing by 12.4% to reach 25.5 million tonnes, with a similar trajectory projected for 2021/22. But Covid-19 has proven itself to be very stubborn; recent reports from Bangladesh and Vietnam indicates that Covid infections are on the rise, so lockdown-induced factory closures and shipping problems are still major threats, leaving manufacturers scrambling to fill their orders.