News
As the 2021/22 Season Comes to a Close, Area, Production and Consumption Are All Up vs 2020/21
For Immediate Release
Date Posted: 2 May 2022
Executive Summary
Highlights from the May 2022 Cotton This Month include:
- With 2021/22 winding down, it appears area, production and consumption will all be up year-over-year
- While many countries made gains, West Africa showed an incredible turnaround, led my Mali
- Global trade was down, largely due to the troubles experienced with global transportation and logistics
As the 2021/22 Season Comes to a Close, Area, Production and Consumption Are All Up vs 2020/21
As the 2021/22 season comes to an end in about 13 weeks, the industry posted gains in most major categories vs the previous season, with area, production and consumption all increasing vs 2020/21. One of the few exceptions is world trade, which suffered from the many disruptions experienced throughout the supply chain due to transportation and logistics challenges.
In other words, demand has remained high all year — the problem was actually getting the fibre from one sector of the supply chain to the next, and ultimately onto store shelves and into consumers' hands. While strong US export numbers are an encouraging sign that the problems are receding, the backlogs will take time to clear through the intricate shipping and transport system and could take many months to fully normalise.
After declining by 22%, cotton area in West African countries increased by 44% in 2021/22. This impressive recovery was driven by the recovery of area in Mali (see the February 2022 edition of CTM for the explanation).
In other words, demand has remained high all year — the problem was actually getting the fibre from one sector of the supply chain to the next, and ultimately onto store shelves and into consumers' hands. While strong US export numbers are an encouraging sign that the problems are receding, the backlogs will take time to clear through the intricate shipping and transport system and could take many months to fully normalise.
After declining by 22%, cotton area in West African countries increased by 44% in 2021/22. This impressive recovery was driven by the recovery of area in Mali (see the February 2022 edition of CTM for the explanation).
The Secretariat’s current price forecast of the season-average A index for 2021/22 ranges from 109 cents to 129 cents, with a midpoint at 115 cents per pound.
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 17 May 2022. The next Cotton This Month will be released on 1 June 2022.
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Please contact the author, ICAC Data Scientist Matthew Looney, with questions on this report.
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About the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
Formed in 1939, the ICAC is an association of cotton producing, consuming and trading countries. It acts as a catalyst for change by helping member countries maintain a healthy world cotton economy; provides transparency to the world cotton market by serving as a clearinghouse for technical information on cotton production; and serves as a forum for discussing cotton issues of international significance. In addition, members can take advantage of the ICAC’s global network of cotton researchers, whose expertise covers the supply chain from farm to textile manufacturing, and have free access to its cutting-edge technologies like the voice-based app and virtual technology cotton training programme. Committed to ensuring cotton’s continued sustainability, the ICAC is the only intergovernmental commodity body covering cotton that is recognised by the United Nations. For more information, please visit www.icac.org, Twitter or LinkedIn.