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In December last year alone, Brazil exported 370 thousand tons of cotton, half of its domestic consumption in one year. Since July last year, more than 1.6 million tons have been exported. The data comes from Henrique Snitcovski, president of the National Association of Cotton Exporters – Anea.
“By June we will break a new record of 2.3 million tons of cotton shipped in this production cycle”, he celebrated in a live broadcast promoted by the Mato Grosso Association of Cotton Producers (Ampa). Only China accounts for 1/3 of export demand, but other countries such as Vietnam, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh buy Brazilian products.
The optimism is confirmed by Thomas Reinhart, one of the greatest experts on cotton trade in the world. “Chinese demand is around 10 million tons, half of which is for domestic consumption”, he explains.
Reinhart assesses that the scenario is favorable to Brazil due to the economic sanctions on the United States, our main competitor, and the embargo on the import of cotton and other Australian products. These factors favor greater penetration of the largest feather consumer market.
To meet export demand and domestic consumption, Mato Grosso continues to be the main Brazilian producer. For the crop being planted, 2 million tons should be harvested. Even with the reduction in planted area, Paulo Aguiar, president of Ampa, is optimistic. “Despite the delay in planting due to the delay in harvesting soybeans, the state’s production may exceed the forecast and the expectation of the Brazilian harvest is 2.7 million tons”, he assesses.
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The decrease in planted area and the demand for exports worries the president of the Brazilian Textile and Clothing Industry Association – Abit, Fernando Pimentel. For him, the recovery in sales in the second half of 2020 went far beyond expectations, thanks to emergency aid and other measures from the federal government. “Of the segments that make up our industry, spinning was the only one that had a positive cumulative result in 2020 compared to 2019”, he highlighted.
However, he believes that this result may not be repeated this year. “The euphoria of consumption has ceased and December was no longer what we expected”, he assesses. Part of this is related to increases in food prices, which are draining a large part of Brazilian families' income.
Paulo Aguiar believes that Brazilian production is capable of meeting national consumption, which is around 700 thousand tons. “We still have 330 thousand tons from the last harvest, which added to the production being planted will be enough to supply the local and international market”, he concluded.
Created by Ampa during the pandemic, the series of online events brings together experts from Brazil, the United States, China and European countries who discuss the production, export and consumption of cotton worldwide and the strategies adopted.
Source: Notícias Agrícolas
