The prospect of a record crop in India, which has benefited from timely and plentiful Monsoon rains, has resulted in an overall increase this month in Cotton Outlook's world production forecast for the 2013/14 season. The gain for India (which could still prove to be an underestimate) more than offsets a further reduction for the United States, where drought has limited production in West Texas, and too much rain has dented prospects in the South Eastern states.
Although some retrospective adjustments have resulted in changes to Cotton Outlook's consumption data, the gain in consumption between 2012/13 and 2012/14 is still projected as a rather pedestrian two percent. The cotton textiles sector in China continues to be hampered by the government's cotton policies, and recent economic developments in India and certain South East Asian countries have been far from helpful.
