Cotton Demand Continues To Surge

Kelly Allen

Strong demand for cotton is expected to continue through 2022.US cotton growers saw a big surge in market prices in 2021 thanks to strong demand in both domestic and export markets. The NCC’s 41st Annual Early Season Planting Intentions Survey showed U.S. cotton farmers anticipate planting 12 million acres of cotton this spring, an increase of 7.9% from 2021.

USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer:

Meyer: “We went through a year of pretty good demand and tiger exportable supplies, good production this year but demand which has been pretty solid globally. A 2.5% growth in cotton demand globally, which to put in context is a pretty strong rebound in demand.”

Meyer says the USDA is forecasting cotton prices for 2022 at close to $.90 per pound. He calls that an amazing price for a season average. He says some analysts are even going further, talking about cotton prices rising to $1.00 per pound. Those kinds of numbers are obviously very positive from a producer’s standpoint and could mean a bright year ahead.

History has shown that U.S. farmers respond to relative prices when making planting decisions thus Relative to the average futures prices during the first quarter of 2021, prices of all commodities are trading significantly higher. However, input costs are also much higher than this time last year.”

For your Southeast Regional Ag News I’m Susan Allen