Global cotton prices to remain on top
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
NEW DELHI, Nov 23 (Commodity Online): Global cotton prices continued to scale new highs as unusually heavy rain and cloudiness in major producer India, which caused yield and quality losses, adds to the woes.
The excessive rain slowed cotton maturation, and delayed the start of harvest in several areas.
The extended wet spell is likely to have wide ramifications for the flowering season and farmers are apprehensive about the fate of their crops as the natural cycle has gone haywire.
Another reason for the prices to remain clutched on top is projected decline in top producer China's 2010/11 cotton production, which was sliced by 1.0 million (480-lb) bales to 31.5 million, its imports raised to 13 million bales from an earlier estimate of 12.75 million, and its ending stocks dropped to 14.72 million from 16.01 million.
Analysts said, Indian export restrictions, which have been behind the jump in prices to records in both the US, the top cotton exporter, and China, the main producer, consumer and importer of the fibre, is likely to extend over these conditions.
India is expected to harvest a bumper crop of 32 million bales this season
In India, cotton yarn prices, which were ruling at Rs 185 a kg in August this year have now touched an all time high of over Rs 240 a kg, an increase of Rs 55 per kg in a short span of two months.
The excessive rain slowed cotton maturation, and delayed the start of harvest in several areas.
The extended wet spell is likely to have wide ramifications for the flowering season and farmers are apprehensive about the fate of their crops as the natural cycle has gone haywire.
Another reason for the prices to remain clutched on top is projected decline in top producer China's 2010/11 cotton production, which was sliced by 1.0 million (480-lb) bales to 31.5 million, its imports raised to 13 million bales from an earlier estimate of 12.75 million, and its ending stocks dropped to 14.72 million from 16.01 million.
Analysts said, Indian export restrictions, which have been behind the jump in prices to records in both the US, the top cotton exporter, and China, the main producer, consumer and importer of the fibre, is likely to extend over these conditions.
India is expected to harvest a bumper crop of 32 million bales this season
In India, cotton yarn prices, which were ruling at Rs 185 a kg in August this year have now touched an all time high of over Rs 240 a kg, an increase of Rs 55 per kg in a short span of two months.