Year 2014-'15 global cotton mill use is forecast at 112.3 million bales, two per cent above the previous season. Mill use in China is expected to rebound in 2014-’15 to 37 million bales, up from an estimated 35.5 million bales this season and the highest in three years.

India’s consumption is projected to rise two per cent, a record, as demand for India’s textile product exports is expected to remain strong. Expansion of cotton mill use in Pakistan is also likely to continue in 2014-’15, rising three per cent above a year earlier. In addition to gains for the United States, cotton mill consumption is also projected to rise in Turkey and Bangladesh.

World cotton trade, on the other hand, will be 13 per cent below 2013-’14 and the lowest in four years, due mainly to China’s expected reduction in raw cotton imports. Imports are forecast to rise in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistan, while declines are seen for Turkey and Vietnam.

Exports are projected to decrease in 2014-’15 across major exporting countries with the exception of Brazil. For India, exports are forecast to decline 37 per cent while shipments from Australia are projected to decrease 35 per cent. Global ending stocks are forecast to reach 102.7 million bales by the end of 2014-’15.