Browse Data and Analysis

Post forecasts Egypt’s MY 2025/26 cotton production at 320,000 bales, down 25 percent from the previous season due to a significant decrease in area harvested.

After hitting low levels in MY 2023/24, Spain’s cotton production is set to rebound in MY 2024/25. Exports remain the main outlet for Spain’s cotton lint production. The projected recovery in production should allow exports to bounce back to average levels.

Early spring precipitations in Andalucía came as a relief, refilling water reservoirs. However, this allowed for only a marginal recovery in area planted to cotton, as rains arrived when planting plans were already in place and largely oriented to less water-demanding crops such as winter grains or early spring-planted sunflower.

Egyptian cotton production in marketing year (MY) 2024/25, the period from August 2024 to July 2025, is forecast at 310,000 bales, down 40,000 bales from MY2023/24, driven by a 4-percent drop in harvested area and lower input use, impacting yields.

Irrigation water limitations in the Guadalquivir basin have nearly halved cotton production in Andalusia, Spain’s main producing region.

The 2022 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world during the 2022 calendar year.

Like many countries in the world, Egypt has been greatly affected by the Russian war on Ukraine, which has caused strain on the Egyptian economy. In 2022, the Egyptian government struggled to rein in inflation caused by rising food and energy prices. In October 2022, Egypt decided to sharply devalue the currency by the end of 2022, inflation reached almost 22 percent.

The drought in Andalucía is anticipated to prevent further expansion of Spain’s cotton area in MY 2023/24. Irrigation water allocation will be critical for farmer’s planting decisions, and temperatures and pest incidence during the summer months will also determine final yields.

Irrigation water limitations in the Guadalquivir basin resulted in lower area planted to cotton for MY 2022/23 and a significant drop in yields. Cotton production has also been negatively affected by pest incidence. Industry sources argue that Spanish farmers should be eligible for cotton specific support despite the reduction in yields.

U.S. exporters can find ample opportunities in the Iberian Peninsula. Spain is the third-largest European Union (EU) destination for U.S. agricultural products, with Portugal ranking 11th. In 2021, the United States exported $1.6 billion of agricultural products to Spain, or 15 percent of total U.S. agricultural exports to the EU. The United States held a 4 percent market share of Spain’s agricultural imports and 2 percent market share in Portugal, behind other EU member states as a group and Brazil.

In market year (MY) 2022/23, cotton area harvested is forecast to increase 14 percent to 97,000 hectares (ha), from 85,000 ha in MY 2021/22. Post estimates MY 2022/23 production at 320,000 bales compared to 280,000 bales in MY 2021/22.

The 2021 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world.