Global cotton exports are expected to fall by 6.47 per cent to 7.8 million tonnes in 2008-09 due to the slowing demand from textile importing countries, an international cotton body said.
Due to declining mill use, world cotton exports are now forecast to decline 6.47 per cent in 2008-09, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) said in a statement.
Mill use are expected to fall 4 per cent, to 10.5 million tonnes in China, the world’s largest consumer, it said, adding it’s cotton imports would decline 10 per cent to 2.3 mn tonnes.
Consumption in China would see a fall due to the “rising costs of production, the strength of yuan against the US dollar and slowing demand from textile countries”, ICAC noted. The global cotton consumption would stand at 25.5 million tonnes, down 3 per cent from the previous year.
On the production front, ICAC said world cotton output is projected to decline by six per cent to 24.7 million tonnes mainly due to lower demand for the fibre crop in comparison with other crops.