The sowing of cotton 2022/23 in Brazil is practically closed. With the end of work in the country and the wait for the time of harvest, expectations in terms of production now turn to the Northern Hemisphere, especially the United States that should plant the smallest area in seven years in the 2023/24 harvest.

The information is from the Abrapa Market Intelligence Bulletin, released on Friday (24).

Check out the highlights brought by the Abrapa Market Intelligence Bulletin:

Cotton in NY 1 – The Mar/23 contract closed yesterday at 82.41 U$c/lp (+1.43%).

Cotton in NY 2 – Reference for the 2022/23 crop, the Dec/23 contract was quoted at 82.22 U$c/lp (-0.30%) and Dec/24 at 79.03 (-0.39%) for the 2023/24 crop.

Prices (23/02), Brazilian cotton was quoted at 96.50 U$c/lp (-125 pts) for shipment in Mar-Apr/23 (Middling 1-1/8" (31-3-36) post Asia, source Cotlook). For shipment in Oct-Nov/23 the price reference closed at 98.75 U$c/lp (-75 pts).

Altistas 1 – This week was held the event 2023 Annual Outlook Forum of the USDA in Washington. The agency projects a growth of 0.5% in production (to 25 million tons) and 4.4% in consumption (to 25.15 million tons) at 23/24.

Altistas 2 – According to the report presented, the growth rate of demand will be above average because the economic fundamentals are favorable and the failures caused by Covid-19 have come to an end.

Bassists 1 – The U.S. dollar hit a seven-week high on Thursday with the release of Fed minutes indicating that the bank should continue to raise interest rates.

Bassists 2 – According to an analysis by cotlook consulting firm, margins in yarn sales remain unattractive for spinning.

USA 1 – At the USDA event, the U.S. planting and production estimate was also released. The area planted in the country on 23/24 should be the lowest since 2016/17: 4.4 million hectares (10.9 million acres).

USA 2 – This projection of planted area in the U.S. is the smallest disclosed so far. The numbers of the NCC (11.4 million acres) and Cotton Grower magazine (11.6 million) were higher.

Usa 3 – However, the USDA's outlook for U.S. production at 23/24 is 3.4 million tons (+8%), only for the smallest planted area.

USA 4 – The difference is that in the last harvest (22/23) crop abandonment was 46% and the estimate for 23/24 is 18%. On 21/22, abandonment was only 8.4%.

China 1 – There are rumors in the market that China is building a strategy to export cotton from Xinjiang to producing countries to markets that have no restriction on the product.

China 2 – This may mean greater Chinese appetite for imported cotton, as high value-added markets are increasingly closed to cotton produced in Xinjiang.

Pakistan 1 – The president of the Pakistan Textile Industries Association has informed the government that approximately 10 million workers will be unemployed because of the severe economic crisis and a fall in exports.

Pakistan 2 – Spinning in the country has been suffering from the depletion of foreign exchange reserves, which has made it exceptionally difficult to open Letters of Credit for cotton imports.

Turkey – Turkey's humanitarian crisis remains severe and is expected to continue to impact the local textile sector for several months.

Brazil – Exports – According to MDIC data, Brazil exported 34,700 tons of cotton by the third week Feb/23. The average daily boarding was 69.5% lower when compared to Feb/22.

Brazil - Seeding 2022/23 - Until yesterday (23/02): BA (99.3%); GO (88.6%); MA (100%), MG (98%), MS (100%); MT (99.9%); PI (100%); PR (100%), SP (98%). Total Brazil: 99.5% sowed.

Brazil - Beneficiamento 2021/22 - Until yesterday (23/02) 99.74% benefited, leaving only the state of Maranhão to finish the process.

Cotton Prices - See table below: