According to the final 2017 estimate of USDA, the country’s cotton production is forecast at 19.5 million bales in 2018, nearly 7 per cent below the final 2017 estimate as per initial projection for the 2018 crop.

However, based on the ‘Prospective Plantings’ report, the total area on which cotton was grown in 2018 is estimated at 13.47 million acres, nearly 900,000 acres above 2017.

The larger 2018 planted acreage expectation is mainly due to relative prices that favor cotton and the successful yields experienced in 2017 that reached a national record, the Economic Research Service of USDA said in its latest ‘Cotton and Wool Outlook’ report.

Planted area for both upland and extra-long staple (ELS) cotton is expected to increase in 2018.

For the upcoming season, upland acreage is projected higher in two of the Cotton Belt regions and nearly identical in the other two regions.