By Our Staff Reporter | MUMBAI, MAY 05
— As the 2021-22 season comes to an end in about 13 weeks, the industry posted gains in most major categories vs the previous season, with area, production and consumption all increasing vs 2020/21.
One of the few exceptions is world trade, which suffered from the many disruptions experienced throughout the supply chain due to transportation and logistics challenges. In other words, demand has remained high all year — the problem was actually getting the fibre from one sector of the supply chain to the next, and ultimately onto store shelves and into consumers' hands, according to Washington-based International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).
ICAC said that while strong US export numbers are an encouraging sign that the problems are receding, the backlogs will take time to clear through the intricate shipping and transport system and could take many months to fully normalise. After declining by 22%, cotton area in West African countries increased by 44% in 2021/22.
This impressive recovery was driven by the recovery of area in Mali, ICAC said. The Secretariat’s current price forecast of the season-average A index for 2021/22 ranges from 109 cents to 129 cents, with a midpoint at 115 cents per pound. (Source: Tecoya Trend)