Cotton consumption in Bangladesh is set to increase 2.73 percent year-on-year to 5.65 million bales in fiscal 2015-16 on the back of higher demand from garment manufacturers, a US agency said in a report last week. Import of cotton will also increase to 5.55 million bales (480 pounds make a bale) in the current fiscal year from 5.40 million bales a year earlier, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA data also showed that the country will end this fiscal year with 1.30 million bales of cotton, which is close to last year’s stock of 1.28 million bales. Currently, local spinners and weavers have the capacity to consume 10 million bales of cotton, but they are unable to go into full production due to inadequate supply of gas and power to industrial units. Cotton consumption in China, the largest apparel supplying country, will remain the same this year at 34 million bales. China is projected to reduce the import of cotton to 5.75 million bales in fiscal 2015-16 from 8.25 million bales a year earlier, the data showed. p to July, China had the largest stock of cotton at 62.50 million bales, which is half the global cotton demand, the report said. China is projected to harvest 26 million bales of cotton in fiscal 2015-16, down from 30 million bales last fiscal year. Cotton consumption in India is likely to increase to 26 million bales in the current fiscal year from 24.50 million bales last year. But its production is expected to decrease to 29 million bales from 29.50 million last year. The USDA report also said global cotton production in fiscal 2015-16 will be 109 million bales, which is 2.5 million bales below last month’s projection and 10 million bales below fiscal 2014-15’s production. The global cotton production will be less due to lower production in the US, China and India. Cotton consumption is forecasted to increase in Pakistan to 10.90 million bales from 10.60 million bales last fiscal year, as the country’s garment exports soared recently for having duty privileges to the EU countries since January 2014. Pakistan’s crop is forecasted to be 10.2 million bales, nearly 4 percent below fiscal 2014-15’s.
