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Department of
Agriculture
Foreign
Cotton:
Agricultural
Service World Markets and Trade
Circular Series
FOP 09- 10
September 2010
7 100
6 90
M illio n !R u n n in g !B a le s
5
C en ts p er P o u n d
80
4
3 70
2
60
1
0 50
/ 0 6 6 / 0 7 7 / 0 8 8/ 0 9 9 / 1 0 0 / 1 1
40
0 5 0 0 0 0 1
20 20 20 20 20 20
Au 0
Au 09
Ap 09
Ap 1 0
D e 09
F e 09
O c 09
10
Ju 9
Ju 0
n1
0
1
n.
b.
b.
t.
g.
g.
c
r.
r.
Fe
With growth in foreign demand outpacing supply, the United States has record early-season forward
sales. As India has just announced that it will retain export restrictions in 2010/11, and southern
hemisphere countries, like Australia and Brazil, have committed most of their recent harvest, importers
have turned to the United States in order to secure nearby supplies.
In the cotton market, prices are sensitive to the size of global stocks. With world use again estimated to
exceed production, world stocks are now expected to drop by 25 percent since the 2008/09 season.
Foreign stocks relative to use will fall to the lowest levels since the mid 1990’s. The United States has
been especially responsive to the surge in prices. Planted acreage has jumped 20 percent this year, and
with improved yields, the U.S. consequently has greater supplies for export throughout the year.
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Mar- May- Jul- Sep- Nov- Jan- Mar- May- Jul- Sep- Nov- Jan- Mar- May- Jul- Sep-
08 08 08 08 08 09 09 09 09 09 09 10 10 10 10 10
Price
U.S. spot prices continue to rise on strong foreign demand prospects. The A-Index for
2009/10 was not quoted in July due to the lack of availability of old crop cotton. The A-
Index for August averaged 90.35 cents/lbs, the highest since October 1995.
Major Exporters:
! United States is raised 500,000 bales to 15.5 million as foreign demand grows.
! Brazil is raised 300,000 bales to 2.2 million to meet their commitments for
exports.