February 15, 2002

Turkey’s Cotton Production Lowered Due to Excessive Rains 

The USDA estimate for Turkey’s cotton production in 2001/02 was lowered this month to to 3.88 million bales, down from last month’s estimate of 4.05 million.  The downward revision was due to heavy rains and subsequent snowfall late in the harvest season, which prevented final picking in some regions.  The area harvested was correspondingly reduced from last month’s estimate of 700,000 to 688,000 hectares.  However, even with lower harvested area and production estimates, a record yield of 1.234 tons/hectares was achieved, and Turkey’s 2001/02 cotton production was near the record of 3.91 million bales set in 1995/96 (Figure 1).     

Figure 1. Cotton Production, Area, and

Cotton production and area was forecast for marketing year 2002/03 by the U.S. Agricultural Attache in Ankara (attaché report) at 4.05 million bales and 710,000 hectares, respectively.  The Government of Turkey’s National Cotton Advisory Board (NCAB) forecast marketing year 2002/03 production at nearly 4.21 million bales.  Cotton area in 2002/03 is forecast by NCAB to decrease in the Cukurova region, and increase in the Southeast and Aegean/Izmir regions.  Turkey has four major cotton regions (Figure 2).

Figure 2.  Four General Cotton Regions

Turkey’s cotton area for 2002/03 will likely increase due to farmer satisfaction with 2001 prices and the government’s pledge to provide premium payments in 2002.  In addition, excessive rains during November and December 2001, damaged winter wheat in some producing regions, such as the Hatay area.  Farmers affected in these regions can be expected to forego a winter crop of wheat and plant a cotton crop this spring.  The MY 2002/03 cotton crop is also expected to benefit from increased availability of irrigation water in the reservoirs and higher than normal subsoil moisture reserves.

In Southeastern Anatolia,  more cotton is planted than any other region (Figure 3) as a result of the Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP) Project. The GAP Project continues to expand irrigation potential as more land is irrigated within the Harran, Mardin and Ceylanpinar plains. These plains are the most fertile part of the Upper Mesopotamia, where the GAP continues to increase Turkey's cotton area and production potential.  

  Figure 3. Cotton Area Estimates by Region
 

For more information, contact Curt Reynolds with the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division at (202) 690-0134.

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