Cotton prices continued to fall in the Brazilian market for the 10th consecutive week ending August 15, due to low price levels in the international market as well as the US dollar appreciation in the first half of the month. Only some traders were purchasing cotton, aiming to extend the delivery period, while trading companies were away from the market. Between July 31 and August 15, the CEPEA/ESALQ cotton Index, with payment in 8 days, dropped 2 per cent, closing at 2.4559 BRL per pound on August 15, the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA) said in its fortnightly report on the Brazilian cotton market. Between December 28, 2018, and August 12, 2019, the Index decreased 20 per cent. The average Index in first fortnight of August, at 2.4701 BRL per pound, is 5.88 per cent lower than July 2019. “Cotton purchasers were not interested in closing new deals in the Brazilian spot market in the first fortnight of August. Agents from most processing plants were working with the cotton stocked and/or previously purchased through contract, and when necessary, searched for small amounts to replenish inventories – however, bidding prices were low,” the CEPEA report said. Meanwhile, sellers claimed that the current price levels were too low and many of them focused on the accomplishment of contracts previously purchased. In Mato Grosso, the main cotton producing province in Brazil, harvesting is completed in 46.66 per cent of the total estimated area of 1.072 million hectares. In July 2019, Brazil shipped 46,950 tons of cotton, down 24.2 per cent compared to exports of 61,900 tons in June 2019. Brazil imported 323.9 tons of cotton in July 2019, up 39 per cent compared to the previous month.
