See the latest Cotton & Wool Outlook report.
Global Cotton Production Forecast at 7-Year High
Note: Effective April 2025, Cotton and Wool Outlook will publish at 3:00 p.m. ET.
The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cotton projections for 2024/25 (August–July) forecast global production at 120.9 million bales, down slightly month over month but a 7-percent increase from 2023/24 and the highest total since 2017/18. The major producing countries are projected to be mixed in 2024/25, as declines in India and Pakistan are offset by larger year over year increases in China, Brazil, the United States, and Australia.
Global mill use is projected to increase slightly in 2024/25 to 116.0 million bales, up 1.2 million bales (1.1 percent) from 2023/24. Among the top spinning countries, however, only China is projected lower this season. World production in 2024/25 exceeds the mill use estimate, with global ending stocks rising nearly 7 percent. World cotton stocks are projected at 78.9 million bales, the second-highest level since 2015/16. World imports are forecast at 42.4 million bales this season, down 4 percent from 2023/24, as a significant decrease in China’s imports more than offsets gains in other countries.