A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report released last week reveals that Côte d'Ivoire has made a breakthrough in the Turkish cotton market.

The report indicates that Turkey would produce 925,000 tons (t) of cotton in 2022/23 while its consumption would be significantly higher, of the order of 1.9 million tons (Mt), up 4.4% compared to the 1.82 Mt estimated over 2021/22. Imports are expected at 1.15 Mt in 2022/23, which is far from negligible. It should be noted that in the first six months of 2021/22, international cotton purchases reached a record 555,678 t.

Until now, Brazil and the United States were Turkey's two favorites but with the crisis of international shipping, Greece has positioned itself very strongly in this market, shipping its fiber by truck: cotton from the United States usually arrives in Turkey usually in 30 days but with the transport crisis, it took up to 60 days! Other important suppliers include Azerbaijan, Australia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Spain and... Ivory Coast. The volumes are, admittedly, modest, but the foot is in the door with 9 703 t out of a total of 555 678 t imported by Turkey.