Brazil produces a bigger cotton crop than the US
The cotton industry in Brazil is celebrating projections that the country’s cotton crop for 2023-2024 will be 14.6 million bales, a new record and an increase of 23.7% compared to the previous year.
This makes Brazil the third-largest producer of cotton at the moment, behind China and India. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated in a mid-February report that China’s crop for 2023-2024 will be 27.5 million bales, while India’s will be 25 million.
What made the most headlines in Brazil is that this record figure will put it ahead of the US as a cotton producer in 2023-2024. USDA has said the domestic crop will be 12.4 million bales, a fall of 13.9% year on year.
The executive director of Brazilian cotton growers’ association Abrapa, Márcio Portocarreiro, said the adoption of advanced technology had helped farmers improve yields. “It’s precision-farming,” Mr Portocarreiro said. “It is allowing growers to monitor and manage their crops more efficiently, making better use of resources and increasing productivity.”
