It’s a bit early in the process to get overly excited, but if the initial ICAC forecast holds true, the 2024/25 season will be posting gains in area, production, consumption, and trade. The biggest wild card, as it has been for the last few years, is the weather.
Weather is also the reason for the one cotton area that is likely to show a decline: yields, which are expected to decrease 0.12% to 768 kg/ha. Global cotton yield has been dropping since the 2017/18 season, likely due to extreme weather caused by global climate change and pest pressures brought on by adverse weather conditions, also a result of global climate problems.
Projections for the 2024/25 season include:
- Area should post a 3% increase over 2023/24 at 32.85 million hectares.
- Production is showing an increase of just over 2.5% at 25.22 million tons.
- Consumption is forecasted to increase 2.9% to 25.37 million tons.
- Trade (imports and exports) is currently forecasted to increase nearly 4% over the 2023/24 cotton season to 9.94 million tons.
Price Projections
The Secretariat’s current price forecast of the season-average A-index for 2023/24 ranges from 85.67 cents to 100.62 cents, with a midpoint of 92.20 cents per pound.
For the most up-to-date statistics, please refer to the Data Dashboard. It is updated with new data constantly, and that new information is immediately reflected on the Dashboard, making it a valuable, up-to-date resource all month long. You can view a video tutorial on how to use the ICAC Data Dashboard on the ICAC’s YouTube page here.
Please note that the cotton balance sheets have been moved to the ICAC
This ensures that the season balance sheets are always up-to-date and available whenever you need them. This also helps to reduce errors because the data is compiled directly from our database. They are included in this PDF report, but we strongly encourage users to obtain all data from the Dashboard.
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