Posted April 13, 2016

 

By Seshadri Ramkumar

 

LUBBOCK, Texas – Turkey prefers U.S. cotton for its quality and will be the top importer this year, according to reports during the 59th annual meeting of the Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.

 

On April 8, producers from the High Plains of Texas gathered in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center for the event.

 

The highlight of the meeting was a presentation on the cotton industry situation by Reece Langley, vice president of Washington Operations at the National Cotton Council. Langley, who has two degrees from Auburn University, presented the shift that is happening in the U.S. cotton export landscape with brief statistics on the global cotton industry.

 

In the current marketing year, China will no longer be the top importer of U.S. cotton. Turkey will be the top importer, followed by Mexico and Vietnam as other leading importers of U.S. cotton. These three countries combined will constitute more than 45 percent of U.S. cotton exports.

 

The export situation has dramatically changed since 2010-12 timeframe, when China was the top importer with about 42 percent of U.S. exports. Currently, only about 5 percent of U.S. cotton export is expected in the China market. As is evident, economic slowdown in China and the huge cotton reserves it holds are major reasons for the shift. Langley stated that China has more than 50 million bales in stocks and within few weeks China will announce its decision on the stocks.

 

In the current season, U.S. will be the leading exporter with 10.2 million bales (480 lbs. each) in the export sales expected, followed by India and Africa Free Zone each at 4.4 million bales. Australia is expected to export 2.5 million bales.

 

United States is expected to export 77 percent of its total production in the current marketing season ending in July 2016. Global imports by China have significantly decreased from 24.5 million bales in 2011-12 to 5.5 million bales this season, which is expected to go down next season as well.

 

Countries such as Turkey and Vietnam like U.S. cotton for its quality, timely scheduled delivery and honoring contract terms.

 

Commenting on why foreign markets prefer U.S. cotton, Dr. Kater Hake, vice president, Agricultural and Environmental Research at Cary, N.C.-based Cotton Incorporated said, “Predictably is golden for textile mills. Mills want no surprises in their raw material. With an HVI quality classing on every bale, the low contamination offered by machine picked cotton and the recent gains in breeding for quality, U.S. cotton is preferred for its spinning performance."

 

As a closing remark in the meeting, Steve Verett, a cotton producer and the executive vice president of Plains Cotton Growers urged cotton farmers to stay engaged so as to advance the High Plains and U.S. cotton Industry.

 

David Wasserman of the non-partisan The Cook Political Report provided the keynote on what is going on in the U.S. presidential election, particularly on the primary season.

 

Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D, FTA (honorary), is a professor at the Nonwovens & Advanced Materials Laboratory at Texas Tech.