Southern hemisphere developments help lift cotton mood
Cotton sector information resource Cotlook has reported healthy progress for growers in the southern hemisphere as 2023 came to a close.
In its review of the global industry for the month of December, Cotlook said planting of the new crop in Australia was complete and that some plants had begun to flower. It said rainfall had replenished water stores, although flooding also caused damage to infrastructure in some places.
It highlighted a positive situation in Argentina, too, where sowing “expanded significantly” in this new season. There was welcome rainfall here as well and Cotlook said this could still encourage further planting. Argentina’s ministry of agriculture has said it hopes cotton will be sown on 610,000 hectares this season. By December 28, farmers had hit almost 80% of this target.
Meanwhile, in Brazil planting had begun in Mato Grosso and was further advanced in Bahia.
Cotlook confirmed that the ginning of Brazil’s 2023 crop was virtually complete by the end of the calendar year and that, in the month of December, Brazil exported more than 350,000 tonnes of raw cotton, the second-highest total ever recorded in Brazil.
