Cotton Marketing Season Is Likely to Begin Earlier by a Month on June 30

The cotton marketing season, which usually begins on July 30, is likely to begin earlier by a month on June 30, according to the Mozambique Cotton Institute (IAM), Noticias reported.

It is generally observed that international cotton prices tend to fall from August, and hence farmers selling their crop before that can get high prices for their produce, said IAM director Norberto Mahalambe.

The IAM director said that raw cotton sales are expected to begin early this year on June 30, instead of the usual July 30. He added that already some companies operating in Mozambique have responded positively to the change in marketing season and they are willing to offer higher prices than those fixed by the Government.

For the current year, the Government has set the minimum price of raw cotton at 11.75 meticals per kilo for first grade cotton and at 8.70 meticals per kilo for second-grade cotton.

In the ongoing season 2013-14, the production of raw cotton in Mozambique is expected to increase by nearly 65 percent to 110,000 tons, compared to production of 67,000 tons in 2012-13, according to IAM estimates.

The cotton sector in the country resisted various socio-political and economic factors, both internal and external, and 2014 would be the fifth consecutive year when farmers would get good prices for their cotton, said Mr. Mahalambe.

Cotton production in Mozambique grew from 41,000 tons in 2009-10 to 65,000 in 2010-11 and reached 184,141 tons in 2011-12. However, the production fell to 67,392 tons in 2012-13, against the target of 100,000 tons.