West Africa: Cotton and Products Update
Marketing Year (MY) 2014/15 (Aug/July) cotton seed production is expected to fall 5 percent from Post August’s forecast to 1.77 million tons. The estimated crop decline is primarily the result of intermittent rains with long pause in June and July. Nevertheless, MY 2014/15 production is expected to increase by 10 percent from the previous year. Burkina Faso, the largest cotton producer in WestAfrica, forecasts stable production similar to the previous year at 645,000 tons while Mali foresees a 25 percent growth at 550,000 tons. Cote d’Ivoire expects an 8 percent increase at 440,000 tons, Chad 46 percent increase at 120,000 tons, while Senegal forecasts a 28 percent decline at 21,000 tons. MY 2013/14 farm gate price for Cote d’Ivoire was recalculated in August 2014, and a gain of 4.5 F CFA ($0.009) was added to the initial price making the final price 254.5 F CFA ($0.50). The cotton producers decided to use the additional revenue to create a microfinance institution.
