The review on the world situation of the sector published on September 14 by the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) reports a drop in cotton lint production. This production fell to its lowest level in three years, amounting to 24.2 million tonnes (Mt).

The fall in production is mainly due to a decline in the harvest in 4 of the 5 main supplier countries of the raw material, namely India, the USA, Pakistan and Brazil. While in India, the volume fell by 3% to 6 Mt, the last three nations recorded larger contractions of 27% (3.2 Mt), 32.5% (0 .89 Mt) and 22% (2.3 Mt). China is the only player in the top 5 which saw its result increase with 5.91 Mt in 2020/2021 against 5.8 Mt a year earlier. According to the ICAC, the Middle Kingdom was also the engine of world consumption during the past campaign. The improvement in the domestic situation of the textile-clothing industry and the revival of world demand for textile products enabled the country to absorb 8.4 Mt of tons of fiber, or 33% of the overall stock (25. 8 Mt). The most populous nation in the world is followed by India where consumption was also up by 26% to 5.6 Mt as well as other major fiber users such as Pakistan (9%), Bangladesh ( 9%) and Turkey (7%). In terms of exports, West Africa comes in 3rd position, selling 1.32 million tonnes of cotton lint, up 32% year-on-year. In the region, the main driving forces were Benin (357,000 tonnes) and C ô te d' Ivoire (246,000 tonnes ).