Posted November 1, 2016
By Seshadri Ramkumar
LUBBOCK, Texas – Cotton consumption this year will highest in six years, according to Dr. Gary Adams, president and CEO of the Memphis, Tenn.-based National Cotton Council.
Total global consumption will be about 112 million bales, or 480 lbs. each, he said.
Adams spoke recently to a room full of attendees at the Bayer Museum of Agriculture here. The meeting was organized by the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce to highlight the economic impact of cotton to Lubbock and High Plains region.
In welcoming the gathering, Steve Verett, executive vice president of Plains Cotton Growers, said that the meeting is a way of celebrating agriculture, as harvest nears in the High Plains.
Adams said that, although cotton use is on the growth side, it will be 12 million bales lower than the peak consumption experience a decade ago. Among other factors, competition from synthetics with excess capacity of polyester is an important factor influencing the cotton market.
Citing the latest USDA report, Adams pointed out that the United States is expected to produce 16 million bales, which is 3 million more than the 2105 crop. Globally, production will see an increase of 6 million bales over last year. Even with this increase, the crop output is expected to lag consumption by 9 million bales.
NCC chief: Global cotton demand on the rise
Dr. Gary Adams
In talking about China, Adams said, “the world needs China’s consumption of cotton to maintain a growth path.”
In speaking about competition to cotton from synthetics, China alone has the capacity to produce manmade fibers equivalent to two-and-a-half times global cotton output in one single year, he said.
The key to stay ahead is to innovate and adapt new technologies, Adams said. He praised the U.S. cotton industry for making efforts in the past two decades to reduce its environmental footprint and produce quality cotton, which is wanted by global textile mills.
Ending his speech with an optimistic note, Adams said that 20 million bales of production is not a thing of the past in the United States and he expects a repeat soon.
Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D, FTA (honorary), is a professor at the Nonwovens & Advanced Materials Laboratory at Texas Tech.