Aug 17, 2010
Brazilian Cotton Acreage to Increase in 2010/11
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Improved cotton prices are encouraging Brazilian farmers in increase their cotton acreage for the 2010/11 growing season. According the president of the Brazilian Cotton Producers Association, Haroldo Rodrigues da Cunha, Brazilian cotton growers may plant 950,000 hectares of cotton, which would represent an increase of approximately 15% or 120,000 hectares more than the 830,000 hectares that were planted last year.
Others in the cotton industry are even more optimistic. FMC Agricultural Products expects the Brazilian cotton acreage to reach 1,000,000 hectares. During the 16th meeting of the Fiber Club held in Rio de Janeiro last week, FMC's national sales director for Brazil, Carlos Alberto Baptista, indicated that their sales volume pointed to even more cotton acres than the estimates from the Brazilian Cotton Producers Association.
The final decision on cotton acreage won't be made by farmers until the month of October and increasing soybean and corn prices could eat away at some of the anticipated increase in cotton acreage. Wherever cotton is grown in Brazil, it competes primarily with soybeans for the same acreage and to a much lesser extent corn. Mato Grosso is the major cotton producing state in Brazil and the crop in Mato Grosso is planted primarily during the month of December.
Another of the principal cotton growing areas of Brazil is in western Bahia. During the 2009/10 growing season producers in western Bahia planted 260,000 hectares of cotton and during the upcoming 2010/11 growing season, it is estimated that they will plant 300,000 hectares. Cotton in Bahia is planted generally during December and January.
Cotton farmers in Brazil have harvested 70% of their current crop and yields have been below par due to the early onset of dry weather in the central Brazil. Domestic cotton prices though have strengthened compared to last year.