Australia’s forecast has been revised upward slightly, adding 119,000 tonnes to the 2021/22 season and 41,000 tonnes for 2022/23. Consumption remains unchanged at 26.15 million tonnes, which still surpasses the expected production of 25.91 million tonnes despite Australia’s larger contribution.

However, don’t let the seeming stability fool you about what’s coming. The drastic increase in fuel and energy costs have had a direct impact on fertiliser prices and availability.

Worse, there are growing concerns that the world will experience multiple famines as a result of the conflict in Eastern Europe, which spells trouble for everyone but especially African nations. During the 2007-08 hunger crisis, the ICAC observed reductions in area under cotton and a decrease in production in Africa, especially the C4(+2) (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal). The effects from those reductions persisted through the 2011/12 season.

There is some good news, however: Africa has made gains in developing The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which went into effect on 30 May 2019, and the agreement has the potential to facilitate the movement of commodities across borders with the elimination of tariffs on most goods and services. The ICAC has been actively engaged in education and training efforts in several African countries, including the concept of regenerative agriculture. Those projects are longer-term but add significantly to the African cotton industry’s outlook in the coming years.

Given so many variables and unknowns, the Secretariat is temporarily suspending publication of price projections. We will reevaluate the price situation in August and determine if we should resume price forecast projection modelling. High volatility and extenuating circumstances in global markets make it difficult for any modelling framework to produce accurate and useful information. Please note that this is only a temporary pause and as soon as we are confident in the model data we will release projections. From a historical perspective, the only other time the price model was suspended was during the 2010/11 season of unprecedented high price and volatility. 

Cotton This Month is published at the beginning of the month with the Cotton Update published mid-month. The Cotton Update, which is included in the Cotton This Month subscription, is a mid-month report with updated information on supply/demand estimates and prices. The next Cotton Update will be released on 15 July 2022. The next Cotton This Month will be released on 1 August 2022.