![](https://in.apparelresources.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/ICAC-projects-global-cotton-reserves-to-reach-all-time-high.jpg)
The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) projects global cotton reserves will reach the highest level ever recorded in its 83-year history of data collection, with China’s 23/24 stocks expected to rise to 9.16 million tonnes.
For the 2023–2024 growing season, it is projected that global cotton production would increase by 3 per cent to 25.41 million tonnes, while consumption will fall by 0.43 per cent to 23.35 million tonnes.
Because of this, global cotton inventories are expected to rise by 10 per cent after increasing by 9 per cent in the previous growing season (2022–2023) to reach 23.32 million tonnes.
There will be a significant excess of cotton production on the global market, as China anticipates a significant increase to 9.16 million tonnes, while the rest of the world’s warehouses are predicted to swell to 14.5 million tonnes.
The Cotlook A-Index, which attempts to be a good representation of the range of offering prices on the global raw cotton market, is expected to be impacted by the excess. For the remainder of the 2023–2024 season, it is predicted to stay between US $ 0.85 and US $ 0.95 per pound.
It is projected that the global stock-to-usage ratio will rise to 1.00, or roughly a full year’s worth of mill use. In addition, it is anticipated that the average production globally for the 2023–2024 season will stay at 771 kg per hectare.
Although the ICAC notes that some drops in planted area would be expected given average cotton prices and declining demand, the overall predicted planted area is expected to be 32.2 million hectares, a “perplexing” 2 per cent increase over the previous season.