Concerns over supply and continued cotton usage drove cotton prices, as represented by Cottoncandy, to register a significant increase of 1.21%, ultimately settling at 61660. In contrast to the previous month, the U.S. cotton balance sheet for 2023–2024 revealed lower ending stocks due to greater exports and less mill use, while output stayed constant.
A strong pace of shipping and sales led to an increase in the export expectation of 200,000 bales to 12.3 million. Due to lower beginning stocks and production, the world’s cotton ending stocks for 2023–2024 dropped by around 700,000 bales.
Global consumption, however, barely changed, with declines in Turkey, the U.S., and Thailand offsetting rises in China and Vietnam. A jump in worldwide prices is expected to lift India’s cotton exports to their highest level in two years in February, making the crop appealing to Asian consumers.
Indian traders made Indian cotton the lowest in the world when they agreed to send 400,000 bales, mostly to China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. India’s cotton exports are expected to exceed initial projections, hitting 2 million bales, according to the Cotton Association of India (CAI), despite a 7.7% decrease in domestic cotton production to 29.41 million bales in 2023–2024.
