U.S. cotton farmers are lamenting a season in which they planted a lot of acres, faced lower yields due to weather, lower prices due to competition from Brazil, and restricted markets due to the U.S. - China trade war. Still, natural fibers remain a buoyant market and cotton was always a fallback crop for production when prices of other commodities soured. With global demand for cotton growing at a 1.59 percent annual rate, it isn’t a market on fire, but neither is it one to ignore. What is notable are the markets where it is expanding in production, and where it has slacked off. Brazil and the U.S. have increased cotton production in recent years, while India has expanded production, but it is still below the level in 2013.  Ch...

TAGS – Softs, China, India, North America, South America