US cotton growers in danger of ‘losing the farm’
The chief executive of trade body the US Cotton Council, Gary Adams, has said cotton farmers in the US face a high level of uncertainty in the face of the current trade tensions.
These come on the back of other recent challenges, including high input costs and damage in some cotton-growing states caused by Hurricane Helene in September 2024. In comments to the Wall Street Journal, Mr Adams said: “We’ve gone beyond just losing money. We have growers losing the farm.”
US president, Donald Trump, announced steep tariffs on key export countries for US cotton fibre at the start of April, arguing that tariffs would help bring manufacturing jobs back to the US. For textiles and clothing, however, manufacturers and brands would need substantial time and investment to reduce their reliance on overseas partners.
Recent data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that buyers in Vietnam have committed to buying 2.5 million bales of US cotton in the current cotton marketing year (August 2024 to July 2025). Chinese orders are for around 750,000 bales.
USDA has also estimated that mills in the US will consume a lower volume of cotton in 2024-2025 than at any time since the 1880s.
