Record 2005/06 Cotton Yields Expected for West African Franc
Zone
The USDA December estimate of 2005/06 cotton production in
West Africa's "Franc
Zone" is 4.76 million bales, down
120,000 bales or 2 percent from last year’s record
harvest of 4.89 million bales. Area is estimated at 2.44 million hectares, down slightly
from last year’s 2.61 million. Farmers planted less cotton than last year due largely to low world prices,
but above-average rainfall this year
is forecast to boost yields to a record of 425 kilograms of lint per hectare.
The 2005/06 growing season in the major cotton regions was characterized
by above-average
seasonal rainfall (see map below) with good temporal distribution.
Early gin arrival reports from various Franc Zone countries confirm above-average cotton yields.
In addition, reports of high
grain yields in the region are consistent with the gin-arrival reports indicating
high cotton yields.
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data collected from
the MODIS sensor on the TERRA satellite also clearly show that vegetation health
for this growing season was
better than the 5-year average, especially for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali
and
Senegal. Assuming the quality and quantity of inputs
such as fertilizes, and pesticides were similar to last
year, cotton yields are forecast higher than last year's record crop.
Summary Cotton Production Estimates by Country
Francophone Africa, or the cotton “Franc Zone” of west
and central
Africa, includes the following ten countries in order of raw cotton
production for this year: Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Chad, Togo,
Senegal, Central African Republic, and Niger. Cotton within the Franc Zone is typically planted from
May through July and
harvested from October through December.
Summary
USDA cotton estimates for West
Africa presented below are based
largely on in-country government reports, FAS attaché
reports, field travel by FAS personnel, news wire articles, agro-meteorology data, and near real-time
satellite imagery from Crop
Explorer and the MODIS
sensor. Cotton output for 2005/06 is expected
to reach record levels for Burkina Faso and Cameroon. Mali has the highest
5-year production average for the region, but Burkina Faso this year will
surpass Mali in both acreage and output.
Related Links with the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
2005
Grains Production Report from West Africa
2005 NDVI/MODIS (250-meter) Analysis over African Franc Zone
World
Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) for 12/9/05
Crop
Explorer (for West Africa)
NDVI/MODIS
Time-Series Analysis
PECAD Update (2004): Record Cotton Harvest
Expected for West Africa
PECAD
Update (2003): Bumper Cotton Harvest Expected in West African
PECAD
Update (2002): Several Cotton Regions Dry in African Franc Zone during 2002
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