cotton - Greenmount Press

World CoMModity Watch
India
Indian mills have been a major benefactor of
the increase in Chinese demand for imported
yarn. To feed this demand Indian spinners have
predominately sourced local cotton with limited
demand for imported Extra Long Staple. A
recent announcement by the Minister for Indian
Textiles confirmed there would be no ban on
Indian cotton exports this marketing year due to
the Indian Cotton Advisory Board predicting an
exportable surplus of 5.5 million bales. This is
currently a full two million bales more than the
3.5 million estimated by the USDA. Nationwide
daily seed cotton arrivals are relatively steady
as farmers opt to hold onto it as the Indian
domestic price softened.
China
China’s CNCRC is currently holding in reserve one whole years’ worth of consumption
in warehouses. What they propose to do with it is arguably the main focus point
of traders worldwide. Current figures put the Reserve procurement for the year at
over 3.6 million tonnes (16 million bales) and there appears no sign of the Reserve
slowing down in this regard. The high price of Chinese domestic cotton and an ever
dwindling import quota of cheaper overseas cotton has seen Chinese demand for
imported yarn increase rapidly at the expense of its local mills. India and Bangladesh
have been the main beneficiaries of this increased demand for yarn. Harvest of
the Chinese crop is almost complete and classing is two thirds through, which is
advanced progress from this time last year. Looking ahead at their next crop (to be
planted April/May 2013) Chinese growers are still predicted to continue to produce
cotton given it is still provides a better financial option over other crops, however we
await the announcement of the new minimum support price in March.
Australia
Planting got off to a fine start with many
growers very pleased with the progress of
their crops to date. After a few cold snaps,
summer has finally arrived, with dryland
crops in significant need of rainfall, and
irrigated crops are consuming more
water than usual for this time of year. A
few growers in SW Qld and the Border
Rivers region are keeping a close eye on
their water supply, as concerns for supply
for their final irrigation are starting to
surface. The rivers will need to run before
we can begin to speculate on 2014 crop
cotton acreage. Back to the season at
hand, recent reports suggest our crop to
be 3.9–4 million bales, down from initial
estimates due to reduced dryland planting
and ongoing dry conditions. Marketing for
2013 season is off to a slow start with the
crop historically undersold for this stage
of the season.
* Ex-gin price bids and basis for
middling 1 1/8 inch cotton
he shirt you wear,
n is at every step.
chain in the Australian cotton industry.
55 Wyandra Street, Newstead
Queensland Australia 4006,
Tel: 61 7 3250 3300
Fax: 61 7 3852 1600