Based on pre-COVID estimates in Textile Exchange’s ‘2020 Organic Cotton Market Report, organic cotton production is expected to grow by 10 percent in the just completed 2019/20 crop season.

For the 2018/19 harvest year, production of organic cotton increased 31 percent over the previous period. As many as 222,134 farmers grew 239,787 metric tonne of organic cotton in 19 countries on 418,935 hectare of land in 2018-19. In addition, 55,833 hectare of cotton-growing land was in conversion to organic, helping to meet the increasing demand.

Organic cotton is generally defined as cotton grown from non-genetically modified plants and without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals, like fertilizers or pesticides, with the exception of those allowed by the certified organic labeling.

According to report findings, 97 percent of global organic cotton was produced in seven countries: India (51 percent), China (17 percent), Kyrgyzstan (10 percent), Turkey (10 percent), Tajikistan (5 percent), Tanzania (2 percent) and the U.S. (2 percent). Of the 55,833 hectares of land in conversion to organic, India and Pakistan lead the way, followed by Turkey, Greece, and Tajikistan.