In comparison to its predictions made in December 2022, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) Tuesday reduced its outlook for cotton prices globally. According to ICAC’s May projection, the season’s average price is expected to range between 96.1 and 111.3 cents per pound, with 102.77 cents being the middle. This is less than the midpoint estimate of 115 cents made in December 2022.
A month ago, ICAC data scientist Matthew Looney noted that deliveries of cotton from India were significantly below historical averages for that stage of the season and speculated that farmers may have been holding back their cotton in anticipation of higher prices. Both domestic and foreign cotton markets reflected this in their prices.
On December 2, 2022, processed ginned cotton of standard 29mm length was quoted at 68,500 per confectionery of (356 kg apiece). However, as arrivals increased, prices began to adjust and were last quoted at 61,800 on Tuesday. On December 2, 2022, ICE Cotton Futures quoted at 83.2 cents, whilst it is currently quoting at 81.34 cents. ICAC stated in its observations regarding whether Indian farmers have begun releasing the stocks,
“It is impossible to know whether they recognized the recent, minor stabilization of prices and chose to take advantage or whether they were just unable to hold onto the cotton any longer. However, the rate of arrivals in India has increased significantly over the past few weeks. In the meantime, Gujarati markets continued to receive raw cotton arrivals. There were 110 tonnes of rivals at the Rajkot APMC market in Saurashtra, with prices quoting between $7,500 and $8,300 per quintal.
