World cotton production declines

Cotton crop in Zimbabwe.

WORLD cotton production has declined from 127,4 million bales in the 2011/2012 season to 100,2 million bales as of March 2016.

Statistics from Cotton Incorporated show that there has been a significant drop in production of cotton worldwide as there has been a shift to synthetic fabric.

According to Cotton Inc., current estimates for both production and mill-use are the lowest since 2003/04 season.

 Zimbabwe’s cotton output is expected to drop due to erratic rainfall caused by the El Nino phenomenon and late disbursements of input, production is expected to decline to as low as 75 000 tonnes compared to 90 000 90 000 tonnes last year  from 114 000 tonnes obtained in 2014.

In 2004 the country produced 364 million tonnes of the white gold, but production has been declining since then due to various issues ranging from side marketing, breach of contracts and pricing.

Besides the decline in global production, Global cotton prices have been falling affecting the viability of local farmers.

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