Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Oct. 13
By Demir Azizov – Trend:
The world cotton fiber production will increase by 6 percent and consumption will rise by 2 percent in 2016-2017, Ray Butler, managing director at Cotton Outlook, said at a conference held as part of the international cotton fair in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
“Cotton Outlook’s current forecasts on world production in 2016-2017 are close to 22 million tons, which is by 6 percent more compared to the forecasts for 2015-2016,” he said.
Butler added that the cotton production is projected to increase in the US, Pakistan, India, Turkey and several African countries.
“Production in Central Asia, namely in Uzbekistan, will reduce for the fourth consecutive year,” he said.
Butler also said the cotton fiber consumption is planned to reach 24 million tons (up to 2-percent-growth) in 2016-2017.
He said China continues to decrease cotton import due to unstable state reserve accumulation policy.
Currently, the import of cotton to China is limited by less than one million tons, which reduces China’s influence on prices.