Overview
Cotton is the single most important textile fiber in
the world, accounting for nearly 40 percent of total world
fiber production. While some 80 countries from around
the globe produce cotton, the United States, China, and
India together provide over half the world's cotton. The
United States, while typically ranking second to China
in production, is the leading exporter, accounting for
over one-third of global trade in raw cotton. The U.S.
cotton industry accounts for more than $25 billion in
products and services annually, generating over 400,000
jobs in the industry sectors from farm to textile mill.
ERS analyzes events in the U.S. and international cotton
and textile markets that influence supply, demand, prices,
and trade.
Features
Cotton
Backgrounder addresses key domestic and international
market and policy developments that have affected the
U.S. cotton sector in recent years. It provides an analysis
of the competition among crops for domestic farmland and
the international supply and demand for cotton and cotton
products. The report also covers farm programs and contains
a profile of operating and financial characteristics of
U.S. farms producing cotton (03/07).
USDA has developed a new approach for estimating cotton consumption in China based on textile import and export data. China's Cotton Supply and Demand: Issues and Impact on the World Market reviews how textile trade data are converted to cotton-fiber equivalents. China's households are also one of the world's leading sources of demand for cotton products, and thus the report also estimates household consumption in China and expected consumption growth (11/07).
Recommended Readings
Cotton
and Wool Yearbook provides in-depth information, analysis,
and data on U.S. and international cotton and wool market
developments (annual).
U.S. Textile and Apparel
Industries and Rural America examines global textile
trade liberalization and the challenges facing U.S. textile
and apparel workers and the nonmetro counties dependent
on those industries. With 40 percent of all U.S. textile
and apparel jobs lost since 2000, some rural communities
in the Southeast—where the majority of those jobs
existed—face particular difficulties (08/06). See
also the AmberWaves finding, Textile
Trade Liberalization Brings Difficulties to Some Rural
Communities (09/06).
Valuing Counter-Cyclical
Payments: Implications for Producer Risk Management
and Program Administration illustrates an improved
method for estimating counter-cyclical payment rates
by accounting for the variability in market price
forecast errors. Forecasters and producers can use
the model to calculate the probability of having to
repay advanced counter-cyclical payments (02/07).
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
Monthly Tables from Cotton
and Wool Outlook contain the latest data on the production,
use, imports, exports, prices, and textile trade of cotton
and other fibers.
Cotton
and Wool Yearbook Tables present data on cotton acreage,
production, use, trade, and prices and other related textile
products.
Bilateral Fiber and
Textile Trade Database is a queriable database containing
trade flows among 42 exporting and importing countries/regions
on 43 fiber, textile, and clothing product aggregates.
Cotton Production Costs
and Returns data and analyses are available at regional
and national levels back to 1975.
Foreign Agricultural Trade of
the United States (FATUS) provides U.S. agricultural
exports and imports, volume and value, by country, by
commodity, and by calendar year, fiscal year, and month,
for varying periods, such as 1935 to the present or 1989
to the present. Updated monthly or annually.
Production,
Supply, and Distribution (PS&D) contains official
USDA data on production, supply, and distribution of agricultural
commodities for the United States and major importing
and exporting countries. The database provides projections
for the coming year and historical data for more than
200 countries and major crop, livestock, fishery, and
forest products.
WTO Agricultural Trade Policy Commitments
Database contains data on implementation of trade
policy commitments by WTO member countries. Data on domestic
support, export subsidies, and tariffs are organized for
comparison across countries. This queriable database offers
various options for viewing and downloading data.
Newsletter
Cotton
and Wool Outlook, published 10 times per year, provides
updates on current market developments and their influence
on the cotton and wool sectors, with data on production,
consumption, prices, and trade.
Related Briefing Rooms
North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
China
India
World Trade Organization
(WTO)
Farm and Commodity
Policy
Agricultural Baseline Projections
Related Links
Other USDA agencies, other U.S. government sites, universities,
and trade associations contain additional information
on the cotton and textile industries.
See all related links...
Maps and Images
U.S cotton
production (chart)
U.S. cotton
yield (chart)
U.S. cotton
prices received by farmers (chart)
See all maps and images...
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