West African Cotton Output Likely to Rise by 6.8% in 2017/18

According to Counsellor's Report of USDA, West Africa's seed cotton output is projected at 760kt in 2016/17 season, up 18% year on year, mainly attribtued to the higher planted areas and good yield. Planted areas reached 2.00 million hectares, up 5.1% year on year. In 2017/18 season, the output may reach 810kt, if the weather is good and prices are high.

In 2016/17 season, Burkina Faso is the largest cotton producer in West Africa, followed by Mali, Ivory Coast, Chad and Senegal. The output of Burkina Faso and Mali accounts for nearly 71% of total output in West Africa. In West Africa, sowing is normally started in June every year, harvest is during Sep and Oct, and ends in end Nov. Ginning factories ususally start operation in Oct and Nov, and lasts to Mar of next year. The cotton is mainly exported to Asia and in the past five years, the five major countries exported about 63-85% of its output to China.