Browse Data and Analysis

Uzbekistan’s cotton sector is at a crossroads. While opportunities for high-value-added products like textiles and ready-to-wear apparel are expanding, the industry faces financial constraints, shrinking farmland, and water shortages.

India’s fiber market is dominated by cotton, however, increased international demand for sustainable fibers is driving apparel and textile manufacturers to utilize hemp.

Burkina Faso, once the leader in West Africa cotton production, now ranks third (after Mali and Benin) due to its ongoing security challenges, though production is forecast to start recovering in MY2025/26.

FAS Abidjan, Accra (Post) forecasts Côte d’Ivoire’s market year (MY) 2025/2026 (August-July) cotton fiber production at 745,000 bales (480 pounds - lb.), up two percent from the MY 2024/2025 estimate of 730,000 bales.

For marketing year (MY) 2025/26, Post forecasts a slight increase in cotton imports due to increasing demand in the ready-made garments industry.

FAS Mumbai forecasts marketing year (MY) 2025/26 India cotton production at 25 million 480 lb. bales on 11.4 million hectares of planted area, a three percent decrease from the previous year due to an expected shift of planted area to higher-return crops such as pulses and oilseeds.

Driven by a minor increase in area and assuming average yields, cotton production is expected to increase somewhat in 2025/26. With expectations for continued strong export demand, domestic use is forecast to grow modestly in 2025/26.

Uzbekistan plans to increase its textile exports from $3 billion to $7 billion by 2028, which depends on a stable supply of raw cotton. However, this goal faces challenges as cotton production is under pressure due to various factors.

FAS Mumbai forecasts marketing year (MY) 2024/25 cotton production at 25 million 480 lb. bales on 11.8 million hectares, unchanged from the previous forecast. The official government production forecast of 23.4 million 480 lb. bales is lower due to a lower planted area estimate of 11.4 million hectares, and expected lower yields.

On November 5, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare published a marketing year 2024/25 production forecast at the lowest level in five years, at 23.4 million 480 lb. bales on an area of 11.4 million hectares.

MY2024/25 cotton area harvested for Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso is estimated to decrease 17 percent to 981,000 HA. This is mainly due to decreased planted area resulting from a late rainy season in all three countries, as well as civil conflict in Burkina Faso.

The cotton production forecast for 2024/25 has been revised downward to 5.2 million bales, with the area unchanged at 2 million hectares.