Cotton: World Markets and Trade (Dec. 2001)

December 2001 Edition:

Prices Begin to Show Recovery -

U.S. Memphis Quote Makes A-Index

Chart -- Prices Begin to Show Recovery -

After sustaining a continued downward slide since the beginning of the 2001/02 MY, the A Index - a measure of world prices - and the U.S. Memphis price began rebounding at the beginning of November. During the initial downward trend, the U.S. price fell faster than the A Index due to vast U.S. surpluses resulting from a record U.S. crop. Prices dropped until they reached a low enough level that sellers, especially in foreign countries, preferred to store cotton rather than sell. Once the bottom was reached, speculators in the NY futures market fueled a recovery by switching from short to long positions, i.e. buying. Nevertheless the A-Index remains below the long-term average of 72 cents per pound reflecting continued surpluses of world cotton supplies. Initially during the recovery, the gap between the Memphis and A-Index widened slightly as the U.S. price responded more rapidly. However, world prices soon followed the U.S. price up and the gap continued to narrow, such that the Memphis price is now included in the A-Index. A U.S. price has not been included in the A-Index since June 22, 1999.

Download the entire circular.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

U.S. Cotton Outlook

World Cotton Outlook

Cotton Prices

U.S. Cotton Highlights

Most statistical tables contained in this circular may be viewed in Adobe Acrobat format ® (.pdf) or downloaded as Lotus 1-2-3 ® spreadsheets (.wk3).

Tables

Table 1: World Cotton Supply, Use and Trade, 1995/96-2001/2002 (1,000 metric tons) {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 2: World Cotton Supply, Use and Trade, 1995/96-2001/2002 (1,000 480-lb. bales) {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 3: FY 99 GSM-102 and Supplier Credit Programs {.pdf}
Table 4: Area, Yield, and Production by Country 2000/2001-2001/2002 {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 5: Cotton Supply & Distribution by Country 2001/2002 (1,000 480-lb. bales) {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 5-A: Cotton Supply & Distribution by Country 2001/2002 (1,000 metric tons) {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 6: Cotton Supply & Distribution by Country 2000/2001 (1,000 480-lb. bales) {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 6-A: Cotton Supply & Distribution by Country, 2000/2001 (1,000 metric tons) {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 7: Export Sales Summary {.pdf}
Table 8: Northern European Cotton and Adjusted World Price {.pdf}
Table 9: World Cotton Production, Yield, Supply, and Utilization {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 10: United States Cotton Production, Yield, Supply, and Utilization {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 11: Foreign Cotton Production, Yield, Supply, and Utilization {.pdf, .wk3}
Table 12: New Independent States Cotton Supply and Demand, MY 1991/92-2001/2002 {.pdf, .wk3}

Most statistical tables are available in Adobe Acrobat and Lotus version 3 format. You may need to GET the Acrobat reader.

Download the trade tables in Lotus 123 version 3 format. Please note that some versions of Netscape Navigator will change the filename extension; if this happens, you MUST rename the file to .wk3 to access it.

Last modified: Tuesday, August 30, 2005