Jul 11, 2018
Early Cotton Harvest Underway in Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Brazilian farmers planted a record large cotton crop in 2017/18 due to very favorable cotton prices. Mato Grosso is the largest cotton producing state in Brazil followed by Bahia and farmers in both states have started to harvest their cotton.
The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) reported last Friday that approximately 2% of the crop had been harvested compared to 3% last year and 6% for the 5-year average. The cotton acreage in Mato Grosso increased 25% this year to 782,000 hectares and they are expecting to harvest a record large crop of 1.29 million tons of fiber.
The cotton harvest is also underway in the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil. The farmers in the state planted 265,000 hectares of cotton or an increase of 31.5% compared to last year. The cotton Producers Association of Bahia estimates that the state will harvest 467,000 tons of fiber, which is 35% more than last year.
In its July Crop Report, Conab estimates that Brazilian farmers planted 1.17 million hectares of cotton, which represents an increase of 25% compared to last year. Conab is estimating the total fiber production of 1.96 million tons, which is 28.5% more than last year.
Brazil is poised to surpass Australia as the third largest cotton exporter in the world. The cotton acreage in Brazil has increased 60% over the past two years, and if the current trend continues, Brazil could surpass India next year as the second largest cotton exporter.