Africa growing in importance as cotton exporter
China will remain the world’s largest cotton importer in 2015/16, but its share of world imports has fallen from 55% in 2011/12 to 22% in 2014/15 and may only reach 17% in 2015/16.
Other Asian countries are taking on a larger share and will partially offset the decline.
In 2011/12, imports by the rest of Asia accounted for 31% of world imports. In 2015/16, Asian imports excluding China are expected to reach 4.5 million tons, representing 60% of world imports.
Imports by Bangladesh may slightly exceed one million tons in 2015/16, up 4% from last season, while imports by Vietnam are projected up 5% to 990,000 tons. After declining in 2013/14, imports by Indonesia increased 13% to 735,000 tons in 2014/15 and may reach 780,000 tons in 2015/16.
Mill use in Asia outside of China is forecast to rise by 4% to 12 million tons, representing 48% of world consumption projected at 25 million tons in 2015/16.
Mill use in India is expected to reach 5.6 million tons, up 3% from 2014/15, and in Pakistan, 2.6 million tons, up 2% from 2014/15.
Although production in the United States is projected down by 11% to 3.2 million tons and exports down by 9% to 2.2 million tons, it will remain the world’s largest exporter.
India, the world’s second largest exporter, could see a small recovery in 2015/16, with exports forecast to increase 15% to 1.1 million tons.
Exports from Francophone Africa (concentrated in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Chad and Togo) are anticipated to reach 1.1 million tons in 2015/16.
Production in Francophone Africa has steadily grown from 494,000 tons in 2010/11 to 1.1 million tons in 2014/15 and 2015/16. As production has grown in this region, its share of world exports, which used be 6% in 2010/11, is expected to rise to around 14% in 2015/16.
