BRASILIA, BRAZIL – The Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) is reporting Brazilian cotton planting at 3.7 million acres, with the production of just over 12 million bales, more than a 13 percent decline from the 2019 estimate of 13.9 million bales. The cotton area is forecast to shrink due to dry weather delaying first-season soybean planting, very high priced alternative crops and the changing dynamics of cotton prices and production costs. Brazil’s domestic cotton consumption, according to the FAS, will come in at 3 million bales for this season, an increase of 300,000 bales. Meanwhile, the country is expected to export 10 million bales, an increase of almost 12 percent on solid global demand and lower prices for Brazilian-grown cotton. Despite this, FAS expects cotton planting this upcoming season to drop 10 percent with an expected global downturn in cotton demand. Even with the expected contraction of acres, Brazil should retain its top-tier cotton producer status on the heels of fewer acres of cotton around the globe.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)